After one of the most challenging years for Europe and the whole world, the European Union launches a citizen-led series of debates and discussions on our common future. The Conference on the Future of Europe (COFOE) is a major pan-European process that aims to offer an open and inclusive public forum that will enable citizens and organizations to become involved in shaping the future of the Union. By spring 2022, the Conference is expected to reach conclusions and provide guidance on the next steps.

According to a recent Eurobarometer survey that was carried jointly by the European Commission and the European Parliament, most European citizens agree that the COVID pandemic made them reflect on the future of the Union. The study showed that the vast majority (92%) across all Member States demand that citizens’ voices are ‘taken more into account in decisions relating to the future of Europe’; around 75% of Europeans believe that the Conference on the Future of Europe will positively affect democracy within the EU, while half of them expressed their interest in participating in the Conference themselves.

CESI believes that there is a need for an active involvement of workers and their representatives in the COFOE and wants to contribute to engaging with its members and partners informing them about the opportunities the Conference opens for social partners and trade unions.

In this context, the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions organized a discussion on the role of trade unions and social partners in the Conference in order to provide its members, partners and friends with an opportunity to exchange with some of the key EU decision makers on the Conference and to discuss about the expectations towards the Conference and its significance for European citizens and particularly workers, as well as the possibilities of national and European level trade union and social partner organisations to become actively involved.

Attended by the members of CESI’s Presidium and Board as well as further mandate holders and affiliates from within CESI and CESI’s member organizations, the event provided an opportunity to gain practical insights into the perspectives of the Conference on the Future of Europe and to relay CESI’s priorities to key EU decision makers.

In his keynote address, CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger presented the views and position of the independent trade unions in particular on how the Conference could contribute to drive a debate for a more socially just and inclusive Europe. He said: “The Conference on the Future of Europe is indeed about putting citizens at the heart of EU policy making. This future will be more digital and more eco-friendly but at the same time, we must ensure that it will leave no one behind.”

In the same vein, CESI President Romain Wolff highlighted the important role of trade unions in this major pan-European process which the Conference represents and emphasized the need for active involvement of workers, and CESI and its affiliates in particular in the Conference which aims to shape our common future. He stressed: “I agree that the Future is in our hands. Now more than ever, it is important to learn the lessons from the recent crises and build more resilient communities. And the social partners will play a decisive role in this.”

The Vice-President of the European Commission for Democracy and Demography, Dubravka Šuica, shared her expectations towards the Conference and explained how citizens and organizations can participate in the debate. In her speech, she presented the possibilities of national and European level trade union and social partner organizations to become actively involved in the Conference and praised the role that also CESI, as a European social partner, should play in the roll-out of the Conference.

In an ensuing discussion, CESI members and affiliates raised questions such as: How will the Conference balance the major cultural and political differences that we see among the various communities across the European Union and the Member States themselves? Who will decide upon the compatibility of the citizens’ suggestions with the values of the Union? How should extreme positions be handled? And how can it be ensured that the Conference will succeed in giving Europeans a greater role in policy making?

With this high level discussion representing the kick-off of CESI’s engagement in the Conference, CESI and its members and affiliates will continue to engage in the Conference with a view to raising the voice for a more social and fairer Europe, better employment conditions and worker rights across the Member States, and a central role in EU policy making for all social partners – horizontal and sectoral ones alike – based on the notions of inclusive social dialogue and trade union pluralism.

The event is co-funded by the European Union under the WeEP project.