A more sustainable, resilient European Union, with access to better healthcare and a more inclusive economy, for example in the labor market, are some of the wishes at the base of citizens’ proposals for the future of Europe. Ending the brake on unanimity voting is a 49 proposal.

Representatives from the 27 Member States and the European institutions condensed these wishes into a list of 49 proposals defined this Saturday at the last Plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Kacper Parol is a young European citizen, from Poland, one of the countries in dispute with the European Commission due to judicial reform contrary to Community rules, and he was present at this plenary session held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, integrated “in a working group for the strengthening the economy, social justice, and employment”.

“I tried to contribute with a young perspective to big problems such as access to housing and the first job for a student”, he explained, in statements to Euronews.

The citizens’ representatives who participated in these events see the Conference on the Future of Europe as an open door to a new chapter in European democracy.

Irish-born Aoife O’Leary says that “important proposals were made for education, on the mutual recognition of diplomas and on a socially reliable educational standard”.

“I think I can have a big impact. As someone said, democracy in Europe will have to change after this. We will not have a representative democracy again. We will have the involvement of citizens”, the Irishwoman said.

Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt was one of the senior European officials in the plenary and agreed on the need to reform, for example, the decision-making process in the European Union.

“One of the main proposals is to end the right of veto in the European Union. It is necessary to stop the unanimity of vote in decision-making processes because with unanimity we will always be short and behind in the European Union”, considered the charismatic Belgian Liberal Democrat MEP.

Many of the proposals, if accepted, will require amendments to the European treaties. Despite the opposition of some member states to these changes, the European Commission guarantees to analyze the proposals seriously, said Dubravka Šuica.

“The institutions are serious enough and the citizens will charge us if we do nothing. Therefore, I am sure that we will follow them up and try to do our best to integrate the ideas, hopes, and concerns of the citizens”, the Croatian Vice-President of the European Commission told Euronews.

The final proposals will be delivered to European leaders on Europe Day, on May 9, but “then it will still take months to decide whether these recommendations are approved or not”, anticipates Sandor Zsiros, Euronews’ special envoy to Strasbourg.

Source: With agencies