Conference on the Future of Europe: its second Plenary to focus on the European Citizens’ Panels

Press release, 25 October 2021 

Representatives appointed by the Seimas took part in the second Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe on 21–23 October this year.

Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chair of the Committee on European Affairs, who participated in the preparatory meeting of the parliamentary representatives of 27 European Union Member States on 21 October 2021, welcomed the fact that the Conference on the Future of Europe was gaining momentum and stressed that the Seimas supported the Conference’s initiative, which provided a unique platform for the citizens of Lithuania and the EU as a whole to talk about the common future of the Union and of all of us.

Ms Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė said that ‘in managing the Conference, we must ensure that national Parliaments, which are closest to citizens and are best placed to understand their expectations, should be involved in the work of the Conference as much as possible. The Seimas Committee on European Affairs is firmly convinced that the principle of representation should not be based solely on four full members at the Conference Plenary and Working Groups. It is important to provide for a possibility to involve alternate members, who could represent full members, where appropriate.’

‘Given the number of important challenges facing Europe and the world as a whole, this Conference is a great opportunity to discuss Europe’s perspectives and its role in the international sphere. I am pleased that the presentation on the discussions held by the European Citizens’ Panels is also included in the agenda of this event, because only thanks to a broad consensus will we be able to defend our values, overcome the challenges we face and emerge from a crisis even stronger than before. For my part, I have talked about matters that are important for Lithuania and the currently very topical irregular migration. It is crucial to realise that this is a problem for the whole of the European Union and we all have to join forces to solve the problem,’ said Arminas Lydeka, Deputy Chair of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs.

Lukas Savickas, Member of the Committee on European Affairs, pointed out that exactly four months ago, at the Inaugural Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe, he called for discussions on the necessary solutions to prevent Europe from returning to the ‘old reality’ and to emerge from the pandemic stronger, more flexible and better placed to respond to the needs of its citizens, ‘Today’s Conference on the Future of Europe speaks about the same thing as representatives of the European Citizens’ Panel. The fact that hundreds of European citizens with different experiences emphasise the same things only proves that we need to continue to step up our efforts to reflect the expectations of our citizens.’

‘This time, already at the second Plenary of the Conference, I stressed that we need to redouble our efforts to hear the expectations of European citizens and to ensure that the Conference delivers significant results. In particular, I suggested providing expert assistance to the established citizens’ panels in such areas as digital transformation, migration, health and EU democracy,’ said Mr Savickas. He also noted that a greater focus on the challenges of the digital transformation would make a significant contribution to addressing many citizens’ concerns, ‘In particular, I have proposed a detailed discussion on enabling real-time economy, ambitious open data solutions and priority solutions for digitalisation. It is only half a year to find these and other strategic solutions for Europe’s future. We seem to face an intense period of time.’

At the second Conference Plenary, delegates from national Parliaments were appointed to the Working Groups of the Conference Plenary. Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė was appointed to sit on the Working Group on European Democracy; Arminas Lydeka was appointed to the Working Group on Migration; Rūta Miliūtė was assigned to the Working Group on Health; while Lukas Savickas joined the Working Group on Digital Transformation.

In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Co-Chairs of the Executive Board of the Conference proposed to the Conference Plenary that nine thematic Working Groups are established. On 19 June, the Plenary supported this proposal. The Working Groups shall give input to prepare the debates and the proposals of the Conference Plenary, within the parameters of the Joint Declaration and the Rules of Procedures.

For more on the Conference:

Website of the Conference Plenary

Multilingual digital platform of the Conference

Joint Declaration of the Conference on the Future of Europe

Martynas Lukoševičius, Chief Specialist, Office of the Committee on European Affairs, tel. + 370 5 239 6881