Our time is now!

Dear readers,

This year's Europe Day on 9 May will also mark the launch of the long-awaited Conference on the Future of Europe. This is a unique opportunity not only to engage in a broad debate on how the EU should evolve, but also to bring the ownership of the European project back to its citizens – at national, regional and local level. I would like to encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.

The EESC, as the house of European organised civil society, has for a long time been pushing for reform of Europe through stronger involvement of its citizens. I am convinced that bridging "the Brussels bubble" with citizens can result in original yet down-to-earth ideas for the future.

To let this potential fully flourish, we need to avoid pre-empting the views of citizens. The discussions as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe must be open to thinking out of the box. None of the discussion panels should assume the outcome of the debate.

The future of Europe also requires a new, positive narrative. We need to prove that Europe is a great place that creates opportunities for everyone to live the life they want, based on commonly agreed values. People in the US are proud of their American dream. I believe it is time Europeans finally start enjoying and appreciating their own lifestyle and the benefits it brings.

The official launch of the conference will take place in Strasbourg, in hybrid form due to COVID-19 restrictions. We can already expect that – at least at the beginning – most of the activities relating to the conference will be in this format.

The pandemic means that the Conference on the Future of Europe now has a strong digital element. Paradoxically, this makes it more accessible to ordinary citizens – especially through the digital multilingual platform. I would like to encourage all of you to use this tool – either to participate in an existing event, to organise your own discussion or to share your ideas on European integration. The future of Europe is in our hands!

Christa Schweng

EESC President