The Conference on the Future of Europe is a historic EU initiative and a unique opportunity for European citizens to discuss the challenges facing Europe and to prioritize them. Between May 2021 and the spring of 2022, parallel discussions and consultations will take place in every EU member-state, enabling citizens from all over Europe, without exclusions, to share their ideas and contribute to the shaping of a shared European future.

The conclusions of these discussions will feed into possible interventions and reforms that will (perhaps) allow the EU to better meet its citizens’ demands and expectations. All the proceedings of the Conference, relevant information, and the conclusions of the citizen consultations will be posted on a multilingual digital platform on the futureu.europa.eu website.

The Conference’s first event took place on Sunday 9 May, Europe Day, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The opening speech was delivered by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was the first to propose the idea of a Conference on reforming the European Union. The Conference’s next plenary session will be in Strasbourg on 22–23 October.

From Greece, in addition to the citizens who have been selected at random to be representative of the EU’s diversity the following members will also  participate:

  • From the European Parliament, the MEPs Vangelis Meimarakis and Dimitris Papadimoulis.
  • From the Council of the EU, representing the Greek government, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for European matters, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, and the Deputy Minister for Justice, Giorgos Kotsiras.
  • From the Greek Parliament, the MPs Marietta Giannakou, Dimitris Kairidis, Giannis Bournous and George Papandreou.
  • From civil society, the President of the National Confederation of Individuals with Disabilities, Ioannis Vardakastanis, and the Secretary General of the European Movement International, Petros Fassoulas.

Professor George Pagoulatos, Director General of ELIAMEP, is also a member of the Conference Plenary as the citizens’ representative of Greece.