The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) is coming to an end on Europe Day, after one year of deliberations, debates and discussions between citizens, regional, national and European politicians, EU institutions, organised civil society and social partners, all working together to build a common trajectory for the future of the European Union. 

During its last session, the Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe reached consensus on its final recommendations, adopting 49 proposals based on the recommendations from the European citizens’ panels, input from the national panels and events, thousands of contributions recorded on the multilingual digital platform, as well as the discussions in the different Working Groups and the Plenary. The innovative process of the Conference has provided a never-seen-before opportunity for citizens to take part in the decision-making process and express their views on the European Union and how it should be improved.  

The next step will take place on Europe Day when the Co-Chairs of the Conference’s Executive Board will present the report containing the final proposals to the Presidents of the European Parliament, Council and Commission. The three institutions will then review the report and see how to effectively follow up on the recommendations. 

Citizens have asked for their demands to be listened to. They want a clear commitment that their ambitious ideas will be turned into action. The European Commission said that although many proposals are breaking new ground in terms of policy and would require substantial budgetary and human resources, it stands ready to honour its commitment. 

As several of the proposals require a change of the Treaties to be implemented, the European institutions are also expected to decide on the possibility to hold a European Convention. The Convention process is enshrined in Article 48 of the Lisbon Treaty as the only legal way to change the functioning of the European Union. To that end, the European Parliament has successfully voted on a resolution calling for a revision of the Treaty on 5 May.

Key Texts

• European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission: Joint Declaration on the Conference on the Future of Europe  
• Conference on the Future of Europe: 49 draft proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe 
• European Parliament: Motion for a resolution calling for a Convention

Upcoming Dates

• 4 May 2022: Vote of the European Parliament on Treaty change 
• 9 May 2022: Closing ceremony of the Conference of the Future of Europe in Strasbourg  
  

The European Movement International position

From the outset of the process, our policy position on the Conference of the Future of Europe underlined the need for a proper follow up, linked to the citizens’ input, with proposals that emerge turned into constructive reforms in a transparent manner. Through our key recommendations for the CoFoE, we support the ambitious proposals emanating from the CoFoE, including those that will necessitate changing the Treaties, through potentially a European Convention to make the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe a reality. The European Movement International, through its membership of the Plenary of the Conference, helped shape these recommendations and we are committed to ensure that they are followed by tangible proposals. 

Any resulting treaty changes must ensure the improvement of the democratic functioning of the EU. That could include the abolition of the veto and the consequent shifting from unanimity to qualified majority voting in the Council of several policy areas. Any reforms that will come out of the Conference must also be built on broad consensus among the EU institutions and with the greatest possible buy-in from European citizens.  

The democratic exercise that is the Conference on the Future of Europe should not end on Europe Day. The constructive dialogue between citizens, EU institutions, organised civil society, social partners and local regional and national governments that the Conference has instigated in the past 12 months has to continue. Much is at stake; the European Union needs to deliver on the issues that lie at the heart of citizens’ proposals.