In Strasbourg, the first meeting will be held this coming weekend of a citizens' panel that will draft advice on reforming the European Union. These Future Conferences are intended to culminate next year in an EU modernization.
The 'modernization' is not only on the wish list of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen but also of many EU countries. Members of the European Parliament have been urging various adjustments for many years. Moreover: after the painful departure of the British from the EU, EU leaders have no choice but to do something...
In the coming months, citizen panel meetings will be held, both in real life and online, followed by four expert meetings in European cities on four different EU policy areas.
The first sessions of all four panels will take place in the Parliament in Strasbourg. Their recommendations are seen by some as 'public input' or 'the voice of the people,' although critics dismiss this as 'well-scripted and prepared agenda setting.' Particular criticism is directed at the lack of clarity about how these citizen panels have been selected and composed.
The aim is to complete the advisory phase in the first half of next year, under the French EU presidency, and move on to drafting recommendations. However, since the European Parliament, the European Commission, and delegations of the 27 governments and parliaments all have a say, a sort of trilogue negotiation will probably be necessary at the end to make the final decisions. Several governments and ministries are also organizing their own panels.
Most agree that something must change in the EU. The question is how far that change should go. Is a modest update to the current times sufficient, or should the EU be immediately made future-proof for the coming generation?
Over the past sixty years, the EU has grown from a small six-country organization with very limited tasks (ECSC), through a slightly broader nine-country club (EEC), through an economy-focused sixteen-country organization (EC) to the current large 27-country organization (EU) with a comprehensive range of tasks.
Many rules and procedures have not been adjusted for these expansions, and as a result, they have become completely outdated and unworkable. Because the EU mainly deals with 'shared' responsibilities, much decision-making is accompanied by an extensive meeting circuit.
The organization of the consultation procedure is in the hands of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which includes politicians representing the EP, EC, and EU countries. The liberal Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt said that more than 2.5 million European citizens have already participated via the internet in panels and surveys, and that 25,000 have opened an account to make suggestions. During the citizens' conventions, 200 people per panel will debate and make recommendations.
Verhofstadt said he wants to present initial results by the end of March 2022. He calls this an opportune moment: under the French presidency of the Union, on the eve of the French presidential elections, with a newly inaugurated German government.