On january 21th in Norway House in Bruxelles was held "RECONNECT - Lunch Roundtable: The Conference on the Future of Europe - Promises and Challenges". 2020 will mark the start of the proposed Conference on the Future of Europe, which aims to bring together citizens from all over Europe, civil society and the European institutions in order to reflect on the future of the Union and give new impetus to the European project.

This roundtable discussed the potential of the Conference for strengthening European democracy and citizen engagement, as well as the critical challenges that the initiative faces. How should the Conference be structured and organized? How to ensure that the voices of all citizens are heard, in a spirit of inclusiveness and with respect for diversity? Which topics should be covered within the scope of the Conference? And how to ensure that the Conference delivers meaningful and tangible results?

Speakers that participated:

Dr. Silvia Kotanidis, European Parliamentary Research Service
Professor Ben Crum, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Professor Oliver Treib, University of Münster
Professor Giulia Sandri, Catholic University of Lille
Professor Pieter de Wilde, Norwegian University of Science and Technology