PRESIDENT MACRON INAUGURATES THE CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE

USPA NEWS - President Emanuel Macron visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Sunday May 9, 2021 to launch officially the "Conference on the Future of Europe", a broad citizen consultation. "Our Union needs a breath of new democratic life and this is the objective of the Conference on the future of Europe that we are launching together today", declared French President Macron, at the opening of the ceremony. “I hope that this Conference, in any case, marks the time for the return of great projects, great ambitions, great dreams.». Declared the French President Emmanuel Macron. Indeed, this Conference on the Future of Europe, is the President Emmanuel Macron´s initiative , this democratic consultation, with an online platform which should allow European citizens to share their vision of the future of Europe and be completed in France. through "citizens' consultations", should extend over a year and make its proposals when France will assume the rotating presidency of the EU. The other leaders of this CoFoE were also present, Mrs Ursula Von Der Lye, President of the European Commission, and the PM of the Portuguese PM, Antonio Costa and David Sassoli, Pdt of European Parliament.

President Emanuel Macron visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Sunday May 9, 2021 to launch officially the "Conference on the Future of Europe", a broad citizen consultation. "Our Union needs a breath of new democratic life and this is the objective of the Conference on the future of Europe that we are launching together today", declared French President Macron, at the opening of the ceremony. “I hope that this Conference, in any case, marks the time for the return of great projects, great ambitions, great dreams.». Declared the French President Emmanuel Macron.------------------------------- Indeed, this Conference on the Future of Europe, is the President Emmanuel Macron´s initiative , this democratic consultation, with an online platform which should allow European citizens to share their vision of the future of Europe and be completed in France. through "citizens' consultations", should extend over a year and make its proposals when France will assume the rotating presidency of the EU.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The other leaders of this CoFoE were also present, Mrs Ursula Von Der Lye, President of the European Commission, and the PM of the Portuguese Republic, Antonio Costa and the host David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament. Conference Executive Council Co-Chairs Guy Verhofstadt (European Parliament), Ana Paula Zacarias (Council) and Dubravka Å uica (European Commission) also answered various pre-recorded questions.----------------------------------------------------------------- The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed the ceremony in front of several Erasmus + students and members of the Executive Board of the Conference. The three leaders explained that this conference on the future of Europe offers citizens the opportunity to get involved and to shape the future of the EU. More than 500 citizens, whose faces appeared on the screens of the hemicycle, attended the ceremony from their homes. Several hundred ministers, MEPs, national parliamentarians and other guests from the 27 member states also participated remotely in the event

THE INAUGURATION OF CofoE WAS PARED BY THE MULITLINGUAL DIGITAL PARTICIPATIVE PLATFORM----- The aim of the Conference is to allow Europeans to share their ideas on Europe and to formulate proposals for future EU policies. The inaugural event, which took place during Europe Day, followed the launch of the Conference's multilingual digital platform which will bring together contributions from European citizens and facilitate debate. Conference Executive Council Co-Chairs Guy Verhofstadt (European Parliament), Ana Paula Zacarias (Council) and Dubravka Å uica (European Commission) also answered various pre-recorded questions. French violinist Renaud Capuçon as well as the Karski Quartet, a string quartet of Polish and French musicians based in Brussels, performed live during the ceremony. "THIS CONFERENCE IS THE TIME FOR THE RETURN OF THE BIG PROJECTS BIG AMBITIONS AND BIG DREAMS" DECLARED PRESIDENT MACRON----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Des at the opening of the ceremony. the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macon launched a very ambitious and enthusiastic our to a European audience: “Our Union needs a breath of a new democratic life and this is the objective of the Conference on the future of the 'Europe that we are launching together today “, and added“ I hope that this Conference, in any case, marks the time for the return of big projects, big ambitions, big dreams. "

THE FOUR LEADERS OF CofOE AGREE ON THE ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF EURO-CITIZENS------------------------ The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli has meanwhile declared “It is time to open up to involve citizens more in public life, and that is the aim of this conference. "We are at a time when citizens want to take their responsibilities, they want to have a say in the policies that affect their daily life, their future, the future of the planet".----------------------------- “We need to listen to all voices - whether critical or complementary - and make sure we follow through on whatever is agreed upon. But I think this conference is a real opportunity to bring Europeans together and rally around a common ambition for our future, just as previous generations have done “, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, who holds the Presidency of the Council, said: “This official launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe is a message of confidence in the future that we want to convey to all European citizens. "

PRESIDENT MACRON WISHES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO DECIDE « FASTER AND STRONGER" French President Emmanuel Macron, a few months before the future French Presidency of the European Union (January 2022, after that of Portugal), declared that Europe must "decide faster and stronger", in particular to strengthen "sovereignty of the European Union in strategic sectors such as health, among others. He added optimistically to Europe´s claim: “I already hear this trial of Europe being done every morning. This kind of ambient defeatism which consists in saying: 'Look at Europe is not there, we are not there' ", declared President Macron." I answer them that, on the contrary, in this crisis it is a European model that has asserted itself. If we have resisted this pandemic together, it is because for 71 years we have together built what was absolutely not obvious. The French diplomatic services are already preparing for this future presidency to make the subject of "Europe", often considered rebarbative more sexy for Eurocitizens, of which the CofOE is one of the first initiatives of President Macron, to hold take into account the wishes and requests of Eurocitizens, and in particular young people

« STRASBOURG IS THE HEART OF EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY » DECLARED THE PDT MACRON--------------------- President Macron has therefore chosen to make this inauguration coincide with the anniversary of the "Schuman declaration" of May 9, 1950, to celebrate Europe Day, symbolizing "the peace and unity of the Union". Head of State Franacsi therefore made the shift for Strasbourg on this occasion: Our European democracy is a democracy of compromise, of balance, which is a virtue that we must protect, but it is also a weakness when it is suffocates in its own procedures, "he said.---------------------- The sessions of the European Parliament in Strasbourg had been interrupted for a year (February 2020), following the first announcements of health measures related to the fight against COVID-19, in favor of the sessions of Brussels, which had been maintained. President Macron reaffirms once again the resumption of European Parliament sittings in Strasbourg and intends to convince for this, in 2022, during the French Presidency for Europe. This is how he insisted "This is where the heart of European democracy beats". The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, who ends his third term in January 2022, declared "not to doubt that the European Parliament will be able to return to Strasbourg very soon. “Negotiations seem to be starting to resume the next sessions of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

PDT MACRON HAS SIGNED A THREE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR THIS EFFECT WITH THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES AT THE PREFECTURE OF STRASBOURG------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The French head of state Macron, signed a three-year contract with local authorities to strengthen the European dimension of Strasbourg, with the same idea of reinforcing the French desire to resume the presence of MEP´s in Strasbourg´s European Parliament. President Macro was thus returned to the prefecture of Strasbourg in rethinking of the presidency of the European Commission Ursula Von der Lyen, and David Sassoli the President of the European Parliament, received by the prefect of Bas Rhin and East Region, Josiane Chevalier, and local elected representatives as well as the Minister of Cohesion and relations with local authorities. The invited European leaders signed a golden book to hit it on this occasion alongside President Macron.../