The heads of the major EU institutions will today sign a declaration in the European Parliament, kicking off the Conference on the Future of Europe process.

For the Co-Presidents of The Left in the European Parliament, the conference must be about people first and foremost, and their ideas and proposals for a new institutional set-up for the EU.

“The Left will be insisting that this is a people-focused project with treaty change a fundamental part of the objectives” says Martin Schirdewan. “Only by ensuring genuine citizen involvement can we build a process that leads to the much-needed changes to Europe’s institutional make up.”

“A top-down show dominated by politicians will be utterly counter-productive. After the year we have all been through, we need to amplify the voices of front-line workers, youth, migrants, women, and the marginalised throughout the continent. We already know what the usual suspects will say, let’s hear new voices, new ideas.”

“European people demand major institutional changes and the ‘Future of Europe’ cannot be limited to a communication exercise” says Manon Aubry. “Symbolic reforms won’t be enough: new treaties are required if we want to fight climate change, reduce inequalities, and restore cohesion within the EU.”

“Citizens and MEPs must be fully involved and heard throughout the whole process. We strongly regret that only some political groups can vote in the executive board of the Conference. How can you pretend to make Europe more democratic if the consultation process itself is biased from the very beginning?”