The Future of Europe programme is about reaching out to citizens to hear what they have to say, and facilitating dialogue and debate about Europe’s future. It is an initiative founded on a formal pledge by European leaders to help build a more engaged, transparent and participative dialogue about the future direction of the Union.
Future of Europe
Member States have begun to reach out to their citizens in different ways. In Ireland, EM Ireland has partnered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to engage with people around the country and ask them what they think Ireland’s priorities should be regarding the EU, and how our relationship with Europe should look in the future.
In the first six months of the programme, a series of Citizens’ Dialogues were held in different regions around the country. Hundreds of people from all ranges of life discussed topics including education, sustainability, defence, competitiveness and globalisation, which will be fed back directly to the government. As the project develops, we’ll be reaching out to more citizens in more regions and building a comprehensive picture of how Ireland sees its future in Europe.
Citizens’ Dialogues
We all have a role to play in shaping the Future of Europe.
In partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we have been holding a series of regional Citizens’ Dialogues to find out what the people of Ireland think about the future of Europe and Ireland’s place in it. These discussions are feeding into the Irish Government’s submissions into the wider European debate.
European Commission White Paper
On 1 March 2017, the European Commission published a White Paper to start the conversation on the Future of Europe. The paper sets out five scenarios on how the EU could evolve, coming from the fundamental position of the 27 Member States continuing to move forward together.
These are:
- Carrying on
- Nothing but the Single Market (See Brexit A-Z)
- Those who want more, do more
- Doing less more efficiently
- Doing much more together.