Neale Richmond
Ceist:367. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the preparation that has been undertaken to prepare for the Conference on the Future of Europe. [19133/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 28 July 2020
Ceisteanna (367)
Freagraí scríofa
The Conference on the Future of Europe is a proposal, from Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, for a two-year long series of conferences aiming to promote better citizen involvement in the EU.
Ireland, as an active proponent of improved citizen engagement with the EU, welcomes and supports President von der Leyen’s initiative. We believe that the Conference should be policy-focussed and primarily concentrate on how the objectives of the EU Strategic Agenda can best be delivered. Given the scale of the challenges likely to arise in the coming years, some form of reflection and closer engagement with all citizens on the kind of Europe we wish to see emerging from the pandemic is appropriate.
Ireland actively contributed to discussions within the Council on the Conference, helping to shape the Council’s agreed position in June. The EU Commission, Parliament, and Council have now all adopted their respective positions on the Conference and will now undertake discussions to agree a unified approach as to its governance and modalities. We look forward to the outcome of these negotiations and the start of the Conference.
Ireland has a strong record of citizen engagement on Europe, including recently through the Citizens’ Dialogues on the Future of Europe. Through the Citizens’ Dialogues and Citizens’ Assemblies, we have developed effective models for citizen engagement and we will draw on this experience in determining how to best engage on the Conference on the Future of Europe when the details as to its operation are agreed.