The Conference on the Future of Europe: Background and Structure

Background

Days before the last European elections in May 2019, French President Macron uttered what is now seen as the origin idea of the Conference on the Future of Europe, when hesaid that Europe was at ‘existential risk of rupture’ and proposed holding a ‘founding European convention after the elections’ involving leaders and citizens to ‘define Europe’s strategy for the next five years, including changes to the treaties’ that may be implemented.

In her inauguration speech at the European Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen, then still a candidate, also emphasised this key dimension of European citizenship within Europe’s common future and proposed the holding of the Conference on the Future of Europe, to be launched in 2020.

Finally, in her ‘Letter of Intent’ Dubravka Šuica, the Vice-President, responsible for democracy and demography, referred to the Conference in the following terms:

Despite these general statements, the discussions around the launch of the Conference were particularly difficult, with disagreements concerning the Presidency of the Conference, its duration, its tasks, and the composition of its Plenary Assembly.

The dramatic outbreak of the pandemic altered the timetable of the Conference, but it also made the need for this debate on the future of Europe more all the more urgent.

The declarations and resolutions of the three institutions involved in this process shed light on the different assessments of the situation in which the Conference will take place, the different expectations regarding its outcome, and the limits regarding the demands that may be expressed through the different channels of citizen participation.

The European Parliament established a multi-stakeholder working group in October and adopted a resolution on the Conference in January 2020. In it the Parliament expresses the need for reform: ‘…that the number of major crises experienced by the European Union demonstrates the need for reform processes in multiple areas of governance’ (European Parliament, 2020: Recital B). And the Parliament proposed a bottom-up process that gives voice to European citizens (Recital E). The Parliament’s resolution proposes holding thematic agoras, random selections of citizens, and, specifically, two Youth Agoras. In general, the Parliament advocates: an inclusive and  not predetermined process, so as to allow for more open participation by citizens; that the concrete recommendations resulting from the deliberative process be followed up; that these proposals may materialise in legislative initiatives even leading to the amendment of the Treaties; and it calls on the other two institutions to ‘make the same commitment’ (points 29/30 and 31).

For its part, the Commission published its communication on the Conference on 22 January 2020 (European Commission, 2020). The ambitions expressed in the declaration also refer to a new impetus for democracy in Europe and the need to listen to citizens. However, the Commission favours a more structured debate and, to this end indicates: ‘The conference should be framed around the EU’s main ambitions, as set out in the Commission’s six political priorities and the European Council’s strategic agenda’ (2020: 2). The Commission also proposes that the Conference address democracy and institutional issues, particularly the election of leading candidates for President of the Commission and transnational lists for the European Parliament. The Commission recommends using the experience accumulated in the different processes of structured dialogue with civil society. Finally,

On 20 June 2020 the EU Council tabled its resolution, even though it had already signalled its commitment to the Conference at the December 2019 summit. The Council’s proposal envisaged a Conference offering an opportunity

The Council advocates a Conference oriented towards specific policy first rather than a general proposal. To that end, the Council proposes that the content of the Conference should focus on a few key issues, including those of the Strategic Agenda whose breadth, according to the Council, is sufficient to address the most relevant issues, especially in the context of Covid-19 and the economic recovery process. The Council adds that in order to achieve the best results, the Conference should address overlapping issues related to improving the EU’s capacity to implement its policy priorities, such as: improved regulation, application of the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality, and implementation and enforcement of the acquis communautaire (body of common rights and obligations that are binding on all EU countries). In various paragraphs, the Council stresses its pragmatic orientation to the Conference, for example:

The commitment expressed by the Joint Declaration does not go beyond a commitment ‘…to listen to Europeans and to follow up on the recommendations expressed by the Conference’, but within the context of full respect for the competences of each institution and the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality expressed in the European Treaties. The scope of the Conference and its outcomes are formulated as ‘…a bottom-up, citizen-centered opinion exercise, enabling Europeans to express what they expect from the European Union’ (2020: 2). And a feedback mechanism will be ‘ensured’ so that the ideas expressed during the Conference events are translated into concrete recommendations for future EU action.

Regarding the outcome, a compromise formula has been sought which does not constrain the content of the final report that may be presented but does determine its scope:

How is the Conference for the Future of Europe intended to work?

The governance structure

After several discussions concerning the establishing of the Presidency of the Conference, a joint presidency of the three institutions was agreed upon, involving the President of the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission and the head of state or government of the Member State holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (at the time of writing of this Policy Paper, Portugal).

The political direction of the work of the Conference is ensured by an Executive Committee, which decides by consensus on all matters relating to the organisation of the Conference, the preparation of the plenary sessions, and the drafting of the session reports.

The detailed composition of the Executive Committee consisting of the collegial presidency composed of the three institutions is:

• Parliament: Guy Verhofstadt, (Renew Europe, liberal); Commission: Dubravka Suica, (Vice-President of the Commission, responsible for democracy and demography); Council: Ana Paula Zacarias, (on behalf of the Portuguese Council Presidency).

The other members of the Executive Committee are:

• Parliament: Full members: Manfred Weber, (EPP, DE); Iratxe García (S&D, ES). Observers: Gerolf Annemans (ID, BE); Daniel Freund (Verts/ALE, DE); Zdizislaw Krasnodebski (ECR, PL) and Helmut Scholz (The Left, DE).
• Council: Gasper Dovzan, Slovenian Secretary of State for European Affairs and Clément Beaune, French Secretary of State for European Affairs.[1] There are also 4 observers on behalf of the Council who are the State Secretaries of the following countries in the rotating presidency after France: Czech Republic, Sweden, Spain, and Belgium.
• Commission: Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President, responsible for inter-institutional relations and Vera Jourová, Vice-President, responsible for values and transparency.

This Executive Commitee is assisted in its tasks by a joint secretariat composed on an equal basis by the three institutions with six representatives each.