Ref. Ares(2020)1438355 - 09/03/2020
European
Commission
DUBRAVKA ŠUICA
VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Rue de la Loi, 200
B-1049 Brussels
Tel. +32-2 295 00 00
Brussels
Ares(2020)
Dear Chair,
The Commission would like to thank you for your support and ideas regarding the scope
and organisation of the Conference on the Future of Europe. I am replying on behalf of
my colleagues to whom your letter was addressed.
As stated in our Communication “Shaping the Conference on the Future of Europe” of 22
January {COM(2020) 27 final}, the European Commission would like to see the
Conference being open to civil society, the European institutions and other European
bodies, including the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social
Committee, as well as national, regional and local authorities, parliaments and other
stakeholders - “all contributing as equal partners”.
The Commission fully agrees that national Parliaments should play a key role in the
Conference. It welcomes all formal contributions from national Parliaments so that these
ideas can be taken into consideration.
As set out in our Communication of 22 January (COM(2020) 27 final}, national and
regional Parliaments and actors have an important role to play and should be encouraged
to organise Conference-related events. The Commission acknowledges the significant
experience of Member States regarding different forms of citizens’ consultations and
other instruments of participatory and deliberative democracy, such as the citizens’
assemblies organised in some Member States. The Commission therefore shares your
view that national Parliaments can make a significant contribution to the success of the
Conference in terms of experience, organising events, and ensuring the Conference
reaches as many citizens as possible. The Commission would be extremely interested in
hearing the experience of the Danish Parliament in engaging with citizens in a dialogue
on European affairs and the modalities of selecting a representative sample of the Danish
population for such big debating events.
The Commission also agrees with you that the content of the Conference should address
key topics that matter to citizens, such as the rule of law, fundamental rights and values,
while at the same time allowing for an open discussion on any other subjects that they
consider important. For these reasons, the Commission proposed that a first strand of
discussions focuses on the topics contained in the European Council’s Strategic Agenda,
along with the 2019-2024 Political Guidelines of the Commission on the basis of which
President von der Leyen was elected by the European Parliament.