THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION REPORT. Europe in a period of transition

THE CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE: WHAT DOES IT MEAN, WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM IT 25 and the European Commission, with each institution having three representatives and up to four observers. It is assisted by a Common Secretariat where the three in- stitutions are represented and whose purpose is to draw up and publish the conclusions of the Conference Plenary and set out the final result of the Conference in a report addressed to the Joint Presidency of the Conference and the three corresponding institutions of that Presidency. Purpose The purpose of the Conference derives from its definition contained in Article 1 of the Rules: “The Conference is a citizens-focused, bottom-up exercise for Europeans to have their say on what they expect from the European Union.” In other words, with the Conference the institu- tions of the Union, the writers of the Rules, want citizens to limit themselves to giving their opinion on a (not comprehensive) series of issues selected by them and to express them in a final report cowritten with the powers. Indeed, as far as the issues to be the subject of opin- ion are concerned, Article 2 of the Rules list 8 of varying breadth and specification: 1) building a healthy conti- nent, 2) the fight against climate change and environ- mental challenges, 3) an economy that works for people, social fairness, equality and intergenerational solidarity, 4) Europe’s digital transformation, 5) European rights and values - including the Rule of Law - and security, 6) migration challenges, 7) the EU’s role in the world, and 8) the Union’s democratic foundations and how to strength- en democratic processes governing the European Union. As well as these issues listed in the Rules we must add education, culture, youth and sport, which appear on the list of topics on the Multilingual Digital Platform. Discussions can also cover cross-cutting issues relat- ed to the EU’s ability to deliver on policy priorities, such as better regulation, the application of subsidiarity and proportionality, implementation and enforcement of the acquis and transparency. As we have said, the final result of the Conference will be presented in a report addressed to the Joint Presidency and then the three institutions will examine the way in which to effectively follow up on it. The content of that report is a crucial element of the Conference’s practical use. Article 1 of the Rules states that “a feedback mechanism will ensure that ideas ex- pressed during the Conference events result in concrete recommendation s for future EU action.” Between 2019 and 2020, France organised what is perhaps the most similar and closest intrastate forerun- ner of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Over a period of nearly two years, the Convention Citoyenne sur le Climat 5 , sponsored by the Presidency of the Republic, brought together 150 French citizens chosen at random. The Convention devised its own governance and form of debate from the outset. The end product was a list of 149 concrete proposals to improve the battle against climate change and the preservation of the environment at a national level. Every proposal was eligible to be- come a legislative decision of the French state. Only 10 % of the proposals were taken into consideration by the Presidency of the Republic and to date, as far as we know, not one has seen the light of day in the shape of an adopted legal text 6 . The system of choosing the members of the Conven- tion was the same as the one followed by the Confer- ence on the Future of Europe for citizens’ participation: random designation. However, during the Convention no political power took part at any time. Unlike the Confer- ence on the Future of Europe, and as far as its internal governance is concerned, the French experiment, then, could be described as a full exercise of participatory democracy 7 . However, compared to the French Conven- 5  https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr 6  For a detailed examination of the results of the French Conven- tion, see here a study by Le Monde from 10 March 2021: https:// www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2021/02/10/climat-les-propositions- de-la-convention-citoyenne-ont-elles-ete-reprises-par-le-gouverne- ment_6069467_3244.html 7  However, some members of the French Convention consider it a mere consultative operation. See on the subject this critique of the Citizens’