The EU of Today and Tomorrow – Towards a Democratic and Inclusive European Union
”Greener, safer and freer” is the motto of the ongoing Sweden’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Therefore, the security and unity of the EU, its competitiveness, green and energy transition, as well as its democratic values and the rule of law were debated during the discussion with H.E. Annika Markovic, Sweden’s Ambassador to Austria, Slovakia and Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Vienna.
Ambassador Markovic, in a conversation with the IDM’s Managing Director Sebastian Schäffer, not only presented the priorities of the Swedish Presidency, explaining the role of the Presidency in the EU’s institutional architecture to the young participants of the event, but she also reflected on her vision of the future of the EU.
The discussion with the ambassador set the ground for an interactive and in-depth discussion with EU citizens based in Vienna, who gathered to discuss what kind of EU they would like to live in 20 years from now. While the comparative report with the outcomes of the focus group will be available at a later stage of the project, some of the recurring slogans among participants included: “Freer Europe”, “Greener Europe”, “More Secure Europe”, “More Digital Europe”, “More United Europe”, and “More Defence-United Europe”.
The event was organized by the IDM in the framework of the EUact2-“Towards Democratic and Inclusive Europe: EP Elections and Active Citizens Participation and Contribution” project on 1 March 2023.
EUact2 is a 2-year project funded by the European Union that aims to build a sustained level of citizen activism, especially among young people, so that their voices are better represented in European policymaking.
For more information about the project and its results, please follow project’s webpage and social media: Twitter: @EUact2.
Author: Kinga Brudzińska