Conference on the Future of Europe:
The European Citizens’ Panel on Climate change, environment and Health met for the third and final time on 7-9 January 2022.
The College of Europe in Natolin (Warsaw, Poland) hosted the work of the Panel, while its plenary meetings on Friday and Sunday were held at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. Around 200 European citizens of different ages and backgrounds, from all Member States, met (in person and remotely) and adopted their 51 recommendations * on the challenges that Europe has to deal with in relation to the climate, the environment, and health.
The Panellists’ recommendations stem from their previous work from two sessions, held in Strasbourg on 1-3 October 2021 and online on 19-21 November, and revolve around the following topics: better ways of living; protecting our environment and our health; redirecting our economy and consumption; towards a sustainable society; and caring for all.
Watch recordings of the Panel’s plenary meetings from Friday and Sunday.
Next steps
The recommendations of the European Citizens’ Panels will be presented and discussed at the Conference Plenary, where the Conference’s final proposals will continue to be shaped.
Eighty Panel representatives (20 from each of the European Citizens’ Panels, of which at least one-third is aged between 16 and 25 years) are members of the Conference Plenary. There, they will present the outcomes of their respective Panel discussions, and debate them with Members of the European Parliament, national government and parliament representatives, European Commissioners, and other Plenary Members from EU bodies, regional and local authorities, social partners and civil society.
The next Conference Plenary is set to take place on 21-22 January in Strasbourg. In the meantime, the Plenary Working Groups met on Friday 17 December in remote format to continue their preparatory work. Citizens across Europe can also continue to take part in the Conference through the Multilingual Digital Platform.
The remaining European Citizens’ Panels will also be adopting their recommendations in the near future, in the following areas:
- Panel 1 – A stronger economy, social justice and jobs / Education, culture, youth, sport / Digital transformation (to be held in Dublin, Ireland)
- Panel 4 – EU in the world / Migration (to be held in Maastricht, The Netherlands).
Background
The four European Citizens’ Panels, comprising 200 panellists each, are a citizen-led process and a cornerstone of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Their deliberations take into account citizens’ contributions collected from across Europe via the Multilingual Digital Platform and events held across the Member States, and supported by presentations from prominent academics and other experts. One more Panel (Panel 2, on European democracy / Values and rights, rule of law, security) has also delivered its 39 recommendations so far. Find out more here.
Citizens were randomly selected by specialist contractors, using methodologies to ensure that they are representative of the EU’s diversity in terms of geographic origin, gender, age, socioeconomic background and level of education. Each European Citizens’ Panel will come up with recommendations to be presented and discussed in the Conference Plenary that will then put forward its proposals on the Future of Europe to the Executive Board.
