"It is time for citizens to share their ideas" on the future of Europe

The Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa stated that "it is time for our citizens to actively share their apprehensions and ideas", contributing to shaping a European Union that matches their expectations, on behalf of Portugal’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. 

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, together with the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, signed a joint statement to launch a multilingual digital platform where any citizen can contribute to the Conference on the Future of Europe.

"We hope to continue forging together the Europe of the future, a fairer Europe, one that is greener and more digital, and that matches our citizens’ expectations", continued the Prime Minister.

We recall that the conference on the future of Europe was given a decisive momentum with the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Conference on the Future of Europe at the European Parliament in Brussels, which allowed the existing difficulty of the conference’s presidency to be overcome, becoming a Joint Presidency by the Parliament, the Council of the UE (rotating) and the Commission.

The Portuguese Prime Minister also stated that the debate on the future of Europe is "more timely than ever", as "we have to prepare to overcome this crisis stronger and, once the pandemic is over, ready to tackle the future". 

The statement signalled the launch of the digital platform https://futureu.europa.eu/, available in 24 languages, which enables citizens from across the EU to share and exchange ideas and points of view on evets held online.

The aim of the platform is to collect the direct contributions of citizens for the Conference on the Future of Europe, which will be officially launched on 9 May in Strasbourg, France. It is set to last for one year.