Europe is alive and its pulse is strong

Opening speech at European Citizens' Panel [Check against delivery]

Dear participants, citizens of Europe,

Dear colleagues,

I thank you for being here today, at the European Economic and Social Committee. I am honoured to welcome you here. You take a voluntary engagement to spend an entire weekend to inspire and give us key orientations on the future of Europe.

The EESC is the House of Civil Society, founded 60 years ago with the Treaty of Rome, to give a voice to organised civil society. In two weeks we'll celebrate the first meeting of this assembly, which is the first participatory and representative house of citizens in Europe, established after the Treaty of Rome.

It is the house of ‘Europe at Work’ to which representatives of civil society organisations volunteer their time to contribute to this challenging and yet infinitely rewarding task which is building the Europe of today and tomorrow.

We are trade unionists from Denmark, employers' organisations from France, representatives of independent professions from Germany, farmers from Spain and young social entrepreneurs from Sweden, consumers from Greece, NGO leaders from Italy and Poland. We are 350 representatives of the wider range of civil society organisations from 28 EU member states that meet and debate to find compromises between often diverging interests and perspective, which are the essence of our beautiful European diversity.

We mainly give our opinions after having gathered the right data, analysis and studies on a given topic, which touches the daily lives of European citizens. With these opinions, we provide input for European legislation - mainly to the European Commission but more and more in the last 20 years also to the European Parliament and the Council, not forgetting our own initiative opinions - and act as an intermediary between the EU institutions and civil society organisations back home.

I welcome you to very heart of the European Union.

It is clear that our Union is currently facing several challenges.

I can assure you that we are not blind to these challenges. They concern: widening inequalities between EU member states; high levels of poverty risk; youth unemployment; low levels of trust in democratic institutions that affect liberal democracies in Europe; the migration crisis; the environmental challenges; and the more and more disruptive confrontations in the international relations that create additionally insecurity worldwide and also for the European citizens.

The people in my community, my neighbourhood in Torino in Italy, come to me and speak of their difficulties, their hopes and dreams. I hear them, and I hear you. The members of this house listen every day to the citizens back home and relate what they heard to others in this house and to other European institutions.

It would be disrespectful and foolhardy not to listen to these worries. And, even more so, it would be very dangerous for our liberal democracies not to propose concrete possibilities for solutions to the problems expressed.

There are too many people who feel that their opinions are not taken on board. If this feeling persists or even grows, our democratic system will risk collapsing, and so will our project of peace, prosperity, growth and cohesion in which I believe from the very bottom of my heart. We must get to work now, have a fresh start and be prepared to re-energise change for what I call 'rEUnaissance' – a new renaissance for the European Union.

The European project is still alive, still strong, still capable to protect, to empower and to secure the best conditions for life and work. Yes, the European project faces challenges, but it is still capable to provide a vision for our common future.

Therefore, when Ms Nathalie Loiseau, the French Minister for European Affairs, presented the European consultation process to this House, we were swift with our response: we said 'yes', the EESC, the House of Civil Society, is ready to host this public consultation on the Future of Europe, planned as a springboard for launching further public consultations in Europe.

This Citizens’ Panel is a first in these Citizens' consultations to take a representative group of Europeans to discuss about our common future in this changing world. There is great interest in your work, and great expectations from all sides. Here at the Committee we absolutely know the fundamental value of real consultation and active civil society dialogue.

Throughout 2017, the EESC successfully organised, in the framework of the White Paper on the Future of Europe presented by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, 28 national consultations with more than 1800 representatives of civil society organisations who took part in the debates and gave us food for thought and orientation.

We are firm believers that active participation and consultation of citizens with representative democracy are the two legs of a solid political system.

As the House of Civil Society, we are ready to provide our expertise and knowledge for this consultation, this Citizens' panel. Europe cannot exist only via governments: economic and social actors, civil society must be on board, allowing for the diversity of Europe to express itself.  

Today, therefore, I welcome you to the EESC. You are here, coming from 27 Member States (and I regret profoundly that I cannot say 28 Member States), to meet and exchange ideas on the future of Europe. You will be invited to debate and identify 12 questions that show what matters to European citizens.

Of course, I am also very grateful for the support from the European Commission. I will let the European Commission explain the details of today's meeting and the next steps. From my side, I will make sure that the questions you come up with today are heard. We will work alongside the Commission and the Member States to find the best way to make your voices count. I know the Commission is planning to present the result of the consultations to the December European Council, and we can mirror this engagement by involving the EESC plenary. We also have what we call "going local" initiatives that we have been organising for many years, in which we foster closer links with local civil society initiatives through events and consultations in different countries and communities.  

I am proud to see you all here. It will not be an easy two days. But I am convinced that you will draw as much benefit and insights as we do. The European project is fascinating. The diversity of opinions, cultural and linguistic backgrounds are what constitutes part of the richness of our European space.

This diversity, although debates may take longer, provides for stronger and more sustainable results. Although, we are not capable to find final solutions, it is always better to talk instead of feeding conflict or confrontation. This is pure cultural intelligence.

I look forward to your discussions on the Future of Europe. Our democratic system, our Europe is worth the fight. It may be challenging, sometimes frustrating - as we human beings are - but I am convinced that it is the best that we can imagine. Thank you for your engagement. 

Work organisation