Spotlight on the future of Europe
This year’s Europe day marked the launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe, a landmark initiative by the European Parliament, European Council and the European Commission. The inaugural event, hosted by the Parliament in Strasbourg on 9 May, has started a year-long democracy exercise meant to involve Europeans in shaping the future direction of the EU. Under the conference umbrella, events and debates will be organised across the European Union in partnership with civil society and stakeholders at the European, national, regional and local levels.
As a precursor to the inaugural event, a multilingual digital platform of the conference was launched in April 2021. Created to serve as the central hub of the conference, the platform provides a digital space for citizens to interact and exchange ideas on how they see the future of Europe. The platform will feed into the European Citizens’ panel discussions, and it will also serve as a space to publish inputs from all conference-related events. The final outcome of the conference, planned to conclude in the first half of 2022, will be presented to the Joint Presidency, composed of the presidents of the three institutions.
The Conference on the Future of Europe is based on inclusiveness, openness and transparency, with a strong accent on the involvement of young people. Discussions will cover, among other topics, environmental challenges, an economy that works for people, social fairness, equality and intergenerational solidarity, Europe’s digital transformation, European rights and values, migration challenges, security, the EU’s role in the world, and how to strengthen democratic processes governing the EU. ‘The conference is for all Europeans to debate a shared vision of what we want of our Union,’ said Commission President von der Leyen in her opening speech. We are all invited now to participate in the debate.
The June edition of our newsletter features publications related to the future of Europe and other interesting topics.
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Conference on the Future of Europe
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This factsheet presents, in a nutshell, the Conference on the Future of Europe: a unique and timely opportunity for European citizens to debate on Europe’s challenges and priorities. No matter where you are from or what you do, this is the place to think about what future you want for the EU and to make your contribution to help shape it. |
Available in all the official languages of the EU |
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Conference on the Future of Europe: introducing the multilingual digital platform for the Conference on the Future of Europe
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This factsheet presents the multilingual digital platform, intended to be the central hub and interactive tool of the Conference on the Future of Europe. There, you can share your ideas, find events, read input from all conference events, and follow the progress of the conference in all the official EU languages. |
Available in all the official languages of the EU |
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A synthesis of the speeches by EU Heads of State or Government |
This paper concludes a series of four briefings on the future of Europe debates that have explained the views of the different Heads of State or Government who have spoken in the European Parliament’s plenary sessions from January 2018 until April 2019. It includes excerpts from some of the most significant statements by the speakers, as well as a more detailed analysis of their various positions on key policy areas. |
Available in all the official languages of the EU except Irish |
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Report on the results of the stakeholder consultation: October 2019 to February 2020 |
The report collects the insights, suggestions and key takeaways of a series of online and offline consultations with the European innovation stakeholders. These included universities, start-up communities, investors, corporates, local, regional and national authorities and national ministries in charge of innovation policies. It is intended to provide policy recommendations to the policymakers in the fields of innovation and innovation ecosystems. |
Available in English |
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Views from outside the EU: report |
A number of ‘future of Europe’ surveys have been conducted in the EU Member States since 2006 to explore the way Europeans perceive the EU (if you have a special interest in the topic, you can see for example the Special Eurobarometer 479: Future of Europe data set). This particular survey, however, was carried out to investigate, for the first time, the opinion of those living in 11 countries outside of the EU. Respondents were asked how they view the EU, what they think its assets and values are, and how much political influence they think it has. |
Available in English, French and German |
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A citizen-centric perspective on new government models |
This publication explores the emerging societal challenges, analyses trends in a rapidly changing digital world and launches an EU-wide debate on possible future government models. To address this, it adopts a novel approach that combines citizen engagement, foresight and design, while being rooted in recent literature from the field of digital politics and media. |
Available in English |
Research and innovation
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Every month, the Research*eu magazine brings you the results of EU-funded research and innovation. This month’s special feature focuses on EU-funded projects under the Horizon 2020 programme that have been at the forefront of efforts to tackle the scourge of environmental pollutants, including air, odour and marine and tap water contaminants. |
Available in English
(Individual article also available in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish on the CORDIS website)
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Strategic plan 2021-2024 |
The 2021–2024 strategic plan defines the key strategic orientations for the first 4 years of Horizon Europe, the EU’s multiannual framework programme for research and innovation. It sets out the research and innovation priorities to support a sustainable recovery and further accelerate the twin green and digital transitions, ultimately leading to a climate-neutral and green Europe, fit for the digital age, where the economy works for the people. |
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This book sets out the key foreign policy developments that have marked 2020, a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the EU’s response. In this context, key considerations for Europe include: how it can become a proper global actor and build up European strategic autonomy; the future for the transatlantic partnership under the new US administration; how to deal with the antagonism between China and the United States; how to act in the face of the ‘new empires’ that threaten to destabilise our neighbourhood and how the EU should strengthen its partnerships with Africa, Latin America or the Indo-Pacific area. |
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Special focus on surveillance and monitoring, as well as on mental health of workers |
Teleworking and digital work, although not new phenomena, grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions. The pandemic has pushed forward digitalisation and telework in areas where it was previously less common. According to Eurofound data, in the EU Member States, 36.5 % of workers started working from home in the wake of the pandemic, compared to 15.8 % before the outbreak. This publication examines the impact of this trend on workers and on society in general. |
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Police stops: fundamental rights survey |
This paper presents statistical survey data for the EU on how often people are stopped by the police, in what kind of situations they are stopped, the action taken by the police during stops, and views on whether or not the police acted respectfully. |
Available in English |
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Enriching lives, opening minds through the EU programme for education, training, youth and sport |
This fact sheet presents Erasmus+: a program intended to enhance knowledge, skills and attitudes, improve employability, help confidence-building and independence, stimulate curiosity and innovation, foster the understanding of other people and build a sense of European belonging. |
Available in all the official languages of the EU except Irish |
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14 futures for 2024 |
According to a famous science fiction film, the future is what you make of it. Therefore, this paper presents 14 scenarios that take us on a journey to the future but also backwards to the present. They start out with the signpost set in 2024, describe the desirable future in the years beyond that date, and lay out the pathway that connects this situation to today. |
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United in diversity |
This is a folded poster for children, displaying a map of Europe together with euro coins and notes. Pictures are used to illustrate the national characteristics and traditions of each country. Euro-area countries can be identified by a euro coin next to their names. |
Multilingual publication with text in all official EU languages |
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Making the EU accessible
Europe Day, celebrated throughout the EU on 9 May, is an opportunity to pay tribute to the project that has brought unity to one of the world’s most diverse continents. The success of the European project lies in aspiring to the humanist ideals of freedom, respect for human rights and dignity, cooperation and inclusiveness. We all have a share of this wonderful project but also of the responsibility to ensure that no one is left behind.
In a situation where over 80 million EU citizens are affected by disabilities, accessibility becomes an increasingly important element of the European project. Do you know what accessible digital publishing entails? Test your knowledge in this quiz and visit our site dedicated to accessibility to learn more.
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