On 31 March 2023, in Jelgava, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gunda Reire, took part in the feedback event of the Conference on the Future of Europe, “Europe’s Future in Our Hands”.
“We have done a good job. Although, at the European Union level, the Conference for the Future of Europe faced contentual organisational and institutional challenges, at the national level it presented a broad series of discussions among people in Latvia on new ideas and proposals for EU policy making. In Latvia, the exchange of ideas was characterised by an inclusive, dynamic and democratic process. This met the criteria of effective participation, agenda creation and awareness raising,” the Parliamentary Secretary said.
The Conference on the Future of Europe held throughout the European Union from April 2021 to May 2022 aimed at inviting citizens to participate in discussions on the challenges and priorities of the European Union. In Latvia, this process facilitated active involvement of citizens and interest in European Union issues, allowing them to come forward with concrete proposals for further development of the European Union.
Looking back almost a year since the conclusion of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the aim of the event “Europe’s Future in Our Hands” in Jelgava was to stimulate discussion on what has been accomplished to implement the results of the conference. It is positive that the proposals made at the conference are already reflected in the European Union’s work programme for this year. In future, citizens’ consultations will take place before major EU legislative proposals are published, thus providing input by EU citizens to the drafting of proposals.
At the same time, there must be awareness of the challenges faced by European Union citizens during the Conference on the Future of Europe. This relates both to the wide participation of organisations and citizens, to the range of topics discussed, and to the attempts of reaching out to the part of the public that is not directly involved in participatory processes on a daily basis. It is essential to take this conclusion into account not only in order to avoid similar errors in the future, but also to improve the effective and quality implementation of the outcomes of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
The event “Europe’s Future in Our Hands” in Jelgava brought together representatives from non-governmental organisations and citizens involved in the holding of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Alongside the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the participants included members of the Saeima and representatives from the European Commission Representation in Latvia and the Office of the European Parliament in Latvia.
Background information
During the Conference on the Future of Europe, various citizen-focused events – debates, research, discussions, and festivals – were held in the European Union Member States, including Latvia. The report on the final outcome of the conference contains more than 300 concrete proposals from residents. Work is underway on the implementation of the citizens’ recommendations. Several pieces of EU legislation have been adopted following the conference proposals, for instance, on banning Russia’s fossil fuels, as well as various recommendations concerning improvements in the health and social sectors.