The Diplomat
Spaniards believe that the war in Ukraine has further highlighted the need for the EU’s strategic autonomy in energy supply, technological development, leadership in values, the fight against the climate crisis and connectivity.
These are some of the conclusions of the contributions of Spanish society to the Conference on the Future of Europe (COFE), whose results from the Autonomous Communities and civil society in Spain were published last Friday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Conference on the Future of Europe was launched in March 2021, with a Declaration by the Presidents of the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament, with the aim of listening to the views of citizens on the challenges that the EU will face in the coming years. In addition, the Member States organized their own parallel events at state, regional and local level. The Conference will consider the citizens’ recommendations and will compile them in a final report on May 9, Europe Day. From that date onwards, the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament will study the proposals needed to develop these conclusions.
In the case of Spain, citizens participated in the debates through COFE’s multilingual digital platform and in the many events organized in Spain. To enhance the voice of Spaniards at the Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promoted a Spanish framework for citizen consultations on the future of Europe open to all Autonomous Communities and Cities, as well as numerous civil society organizations and individual citizens, the results of which are being presented today. In total, six national and 18 regional events were held. The conclusions are grouped into four main areas: European citizenship, democracy and participation, social and territorial cohesion, ecological transition and migration, and the EU in the world.
As for the conclusions, the Spanish participants affirmed that the war in Ukraine has further highlighted the need for the European Union to promote its own strategic autonomy, including energy supply, technological development, leadership in values and in the fight against the climate crisis, and connectivity.
Also, the Spanish society considers that EU policies should address the needs of the outermost regions, shows great interest in the circular economy and the double digital and ecological transition, defends the empowerment of European citizenship and advocates a common EU migration policy. The conclusions “are especially important for Spain, as they can inspire the program of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU, which will take place in the second half of 2023,” according to the Ministry.
