At the invitation of Luca Jahier, EESC president, the Civil society for rEUnaissance event will take place on 21 February. The discussions will enable organised civil society to speak out and the EU institutions to voice their hopes and expectations and to share their vision of Europe for the period following the European elections.
EESC members will take part in this meeting, which will be an opportunity to discuss the future of Europe. Two young activists will be attending: Swedish Greta Thunberg who is known for her environmental activism and motto “Skip school for the climate”, and British Madeleina Kay, known as EU Supergirl, who is resolutely opposed to Brexit.
There will be two sessions: in the morning (9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.), the presidents of the EU institutions - Jean-Claude Juncker (European Commission), Antonio Tajani (European Parliament) and Karl-Heinz Lambertz (Committee of the Regions) - will hold a debate with participants. They will be talking with the leaders of European organisations and movements such as Business Europe, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Europa Nostra and CIVICO. The presidents of the economic and social councils of Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Malta will contribute to the debate on the future of Europe.
The afternoon session will involve seven workshops on issues such as good conditions for businesses, sustainable development, education, fundamental rights and European values, the future of the labour market, culture and peace. The conclusions will feed into the EESC’s opinions on the Europe of the future, just before the European elections.
A webpage has been set up for the event, with the hashtag #EUcivilsociety.
21 February 2019, 9 a.m. - 12.30 p.m., in the Charlemagne building, 170 rue de la Loi/Wetstraat
2.30 p.m. - 6 p.m. at the EESC, Jacques Delors building, 99 rue Belliard/Belliardstraat (ehp)