What do we want for Europe?
The EU Civil Society Contact Group is hosting the first ever European Citizens Summit on June 24-25, at Bozar, Brussels. Four hundred active citizens from across Europe will be brought together to discuss the future of the EU in a counter summit to the one that will gather Europe’s heads of state and government (European Council) on 27 and 28 June.
Why?
Europe is in transition. While the impact of EU policies on the population in the current crisis is greater than ever, European citizens feel disconnected from decision-making in faced with ever more powerful multinational corporations and EU institutions that are failing to address the democratic deficit.
It is time for a radical re-think about who governs Europe and whose interests are being served.
How?
The EU Civil Society Contact Group, representing eight sectors of civil society, will start a genuine, dynamic and democratic dialogue by citizens for citizens about what kind of Europe we want to live in and how we, as individuals, can contribute to create a more just and sustainable society, in Europe and beyond.
Who?
The Summit, to be held in Brussels at the heart of the EU institutions, will gather representatives from eight sectors of civil society (Development, Health, Human Rights, Environment, Culture, Women’s rights, Education and Social sectors), youth stakeholders and ordinary citizens engaged in issues of social justice and sustainability in Europe.
Background
This event is civil society’s answer to a repeated, but rarely embraced, call for inclusiveness by European institutions, including the 2013 European Year of Citizens, the Europe 2020 strategy and the 2014 European elections.'
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