The European Commission (EC) is open to the involvement of the Western Balkans in the Conference on the Future of Europe, but a final decision is made by consensus of the EU Member States, whose position is still not clear, MIA’s Brussels correspondent reports.
The Office of the EC Vice-President Dubravka Šuica, who is in charge of organising the Conference, told MIA that this institution wants to see the region involved in the event which will be launched on May 9.
“The Commission is open to the involvement of citizens and organisations of Western Balkan countries – our close European neighbours – in the Conference on the Future of Europe. The pandemic has demonstrated the extent to which EU Member States and other countries in Europe, including the Western Balkans, depend on each other,” Šuica’s Office told MIA.
The Conference on the Future of Europe was originally slated to begin last year, but was postponed for 2021, on Europe Day – May 9. Officially, it has been postponed due to the pandemic, unofficially because member states are yet to fully agree on the works of the Conference, which is to lay the foundations for the future of the European Union and the continent, by giving citizens a direct chance to shape it.
Last year, the European Parliament in a resolution called for the Western Balkans to be involved, and many MEPs point out that the region should participate as a key neighbor of the Union and a s a region with a clear perspective for EU membership.
According to the European Commission, an Executive Board has been assigned responsibility for taking decisions regarding the works of the Conference, including participation of the region, but decisions are taken by consensus of the three EU institutions: the Commission, the Parliament, and the Council.
The idea is for the European Union to start a substantial and inclusive dialogue with its citizens who see Brussels as detached from the reality on the ground. The Executive Board is composed of representatives of the three key institutions, as well as a Committee of Regions, Trade Unions and Employers.
A multilingual digital platform has been developed to allow citizens and organizations to submit ideas and directly contribute to discussions and debates on the future of the Union and the continent, as well as organise conference events.
The debates will be grouped into eight categories including climate change, health, jobs and economy, the role of EU in the world, freedom and rights, digital, EU democracy and other ideas – to allow citizens to come up with further topics. It remains to be seen whether countries in the region will be involved and how.
