We are delighted to present to you the official report by the Civil Society Convention for the Conference on the Future of Europe (CSO CoFoE) titled “The Future of Europe is Ours: A View from Civil Society,” This report is the result of more than 80 European organizations collaborating since February 2021, coordinated by Civil Society Europe, to gather and channel civil society perspectives to the Conference on the Future of Europe and beyond. Throughout this process, we engaged in bringing voices and visions of citizens’ associations for equality, justice and solidarity, as well as the protection (and practice) of human rights and environment, which we believe should be the core principles guiding all EU policies, both internally and externally.

The Conference on the Future of Europe provided a timely deliberation space to connect politics with citizens, coming at a crucial moment for the European Union (EU) and its people. The interconnected social, economic, and environmental challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of war at the EU’s borders necessitated more coordinated policies, trust, legitimacy, and transparency from decision-makers, as well as greater citizen and representative association involvement.

Ultimately, our 200+ recommendations were developed from the ground up by our various thematic clusters, which included over 100 experts and practitioners from 40 different organizations, as well as surveys and crowdsourcing processes involving over 2,000 national civil society organizations. The CSO Convention brought together people from various countries, with diverse cultural, social, and economic backgrounds and origins, who are united by a common understanding of the societal challenges we face today. However, it goes without saying that this vision could not have come true without the willingness of EU and Member State institutions to act and advocate alongside us. To that end, these recommendations were presented during the COFOE proceedings, as well as within the various working groups and at side events.

We believe that our collective work does not end here, and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with EU institutions and member states on the implementation of these recommendations.

The comprehensive report can be found here.