People from all over Europe have been coming together in recent months to discuss the future of the continent and among them were four Maltese individuals who participated after unexpectedly receiving a call inviting them to join.

The Conference for the Future of Europe, currently under way, brings together some 800 randomly-selected citizens from the different member states who are then given the opportunity to debate on the continent’s challenges and priorities.

Among the participants are four Maltese whose ages range from 18 to 65 and who travelled to Strasbourg in recent months to join in weekend-long sessions where they discussed various topics.

All three European institutions – the Parliament, Council and Commission – have committed to listening to the Europeans and to follow up, within their sphere of competencies, on the recommendations made during the conference.

The aim is for the conclusions from the different sessions to be finalised by spring 2022.

But is all this one big show?

All four Maltese participants said they were initially doubtful of the exercise, although they were more convinced after they took part in the first session.

One of the participants, 18-year-old Massimo Cherret, admitted that when he first received the call about the conference, he was “sceptical” and unsure whether the conference would actually be “fruitful”.

“Prior to this experience, I hadn’t been involved in anything of the sort and, even though EU affairs have always piqued my interest, I was hesitant and unsure of the opportunities available to me as a Maltese citizen,” he said.

“However, overall it was an enthralling experience contributing to my personal growth and independence.

“The conference was extremely compelling. There was a noticeable emphasis on our voice as citizens being heard,” Cherret added.

Similarly, another participant, Ernest Spiteri Gonzi, described the conference as a “unique” experience.

Despite having participated in large-scale meetings when he worked as an accountant in the past, getting to interact with some 200 Europeans was an entirely new and different experience for the 65-year-old.

“The conference was very interesting as, during these three days, you were meeting a lot of people from Europe and discussing together our countries problems and, in the meantime,  making new friends.

“It was a hectic three days where you have to discipline yourself to give 100 per cent. I really enjoyed participating in the workshops in particular,” Spiteri Gonzi said.

Yet, despite the Maltese participants claiming their voices were heard, European Parliament sources in Strasbourg said not everyone is as convinced.

They told Times of Malta that, while it seemed a lot of time and effort was being put into the conference, it was still unclear what actual impact it would have.

The sources also questioned the institutions’ commitment, saying that some of the issues being debated had been on the table for years and, yet, they have never been addressed.

Another source pointed out that some MEPs were also questioning the purpose of the conference, saying they were elected to serve as the citizens’ voices and, therefore, there is no need for such an exercise.

However, the other two Maltese participants at the conference, Claudia Finocchiaro and Liam Tanti, who joined in the final session, said that, despite the process being in its initial stages, the experience was

especially fruitful for those coming from smaller member states like Malta.

Although they had initially feared they would struggle to share their views, believing their concerns to be unique to Malta, they were surprised to learn others from different countries held similar beliefs.

Many of their concerns were also shared.

“Take migration, for instance. We’re seeing that even though there might be different opinions, the concerns and the issues are similar, so we can relate,” Finocchiaro, 18, said after one of the sessions.

The sentiment was even stronger when the teams discussed climate change, she said, with many arguing that the problem could only be properly tackled if the member states came together as one.

“When it came to climate change and carbon footprint, everyone was saying the same thing and that is that, right now, the EU is kind of split and we have to be a bit more united,” she said.

Like Cherret, Tanti was sceptical of the process ahead of the trip, especially given that the participants are selected at random and have no prior experience in any of the fields discussed.

But after the first session, which was aimed at laying the groundwork for the remaining two being held in the coming months, Tanti found he was now eager to return to continue debating and formulating ideas with the rest of the participants.

What happens next?

Now that the first round of four sessions have been completed, the same groups will once again be meeting up to resume talks.

While the first sessions were held in Strasbourg, the second sessions will be held in remote format over a weekend.

The third and final sessions of the panels will take place in-person in various educational

institutions, namely: the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, the European University Institute in Florence, the College of Europe in Natolin (Warsaw) and the European Institute for Public Administration clairin Maastricht.

All European citizens’ panels will take place in the same overall period from autumn 2021 to spring 2022.

After this process, the recommendations will be presented to the EU institutions.

Ernest Spiteri Gonzi