“It is about Europe, not just the EU. The future of the EU cannot be discussed without integrating a pan-European perspective,” emphasised Bernd Hüttemann, Secretary General of the European Movement Germany (EBD) at the start of his input at the hybrid conference on the future of Europe (CoFoE), to which the European Movement (EB) Serbia and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) had invited on 21 April 2021.

The debate on the accession perspectives of the Western Balkan states and their possibility to participate in the CoFoE was the focus of the event. The panel was attended by the EMCDDA Secretary General Marinika Tepić, Vice-President of the Serbian Party of Freedom and Justice, Jovana Spremo, Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, Coordinator of the Working Group for Chapter 23 of the Serbian National Convention on the EU and the President of the EB Serbia Dr. Jelica Minić.

When it comes to the future of Europe, the concerns and impulses of the EU accession candidates are of central importance, said Hüttemann. The candidate countries should be politically and socially included in the debate by the CoFoE plenary.

In addition, realpolitik is needed: “If an honest debate on the future of Europe is desired, those who ultimately make the decisions must be convinced.” Therefore, it is particularly important to establish a connection to the political decision-makers. Socio-political organisations such as the EB Serbia or the EBD are called upon to promote public diplomacy and a cross-border discussion. The conference should not run the risk of becoming an inconclusive civil dialogue. “It is about creating a public, European and democratic space through which public pressure for action is generated,” said the EBD Secretary General.

The CoFoE is scheduled to start on 9 May. The associated online platform has already been published this week. The EMCDDA formulated its expectations of the conference in a position paper in mid-April.

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