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Captains of Circularity

17 January 2024
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Studio Europa Maastricht

Working on Europe

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30 years Maastricht Treaty

Conference on the Future of Europe

What is the Conference on the Future of Europe? Why is it important? Why is it coming to Maastricht? The answers to these and more questions can be found on this web page. Take a look!

What is the Conference on the Future of Europe?

The Conference on the Future of Europe is a joint initiative of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission where European citizens can express their views on the future of Europe through a series of debates and discussions. As part of the conference, citizens’ summits are being organised.

The participants of the citizens’ summits will be selected to be a reflection of European society. Geographical origin, gender, age, socio-economic background and level of education will be taken into account. One third of each panel will be made up of young people between the ages of 16 and 25. On the conference’s web site, you can find out more and share your ideas about Europe’s future.

Website of the Conference on the Future of Europe
Livestream official opening plenary

The third citizens’ panel in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe will take place in Maastricht. What exactly does this entail? And why in Maastricht?

In our six-part web series, these and other questions are answered by Annemarie Penn-te Strake, Mayor of Maastricht; Maarten van Gaans-Gijbels, Regional Minister for Energy, Mobility and Europe at the Province of Limburg; Rianne Letschert, President of Maastricht University; and Mathieu Segers, Professor of Contemporary European History and Europe Chair at Studio Europa Maastricht.

Watch all episodes on this page!

DISCLAIMER: The videos mention 14, 15 and 16 January as the dates when the citizens’ panel would take place. Due to the corona measures in force at the time, it has been moved to 11, 12 and 13 February.

In the first episode, Daina van Wankum, host of the series, takes to the streets to investigate what the residents of Maastricht and the region know about the conference.

Maastricht has been chosen as one of the cities where citizens can discuss the future of Europe. What does the Conference on the Future mean for the inhabitants of Maastricht? And when is the conference successful? In the second episode of our web series, the mayor of Maastricht Annemarie Penn-te Strake takes a closer look at these questions. 

Maastricht at the heart of debate and dialogue on Europe

The designation of Maastricht as host city underlines and confirms the ambition to make Maastricht the working and meeting place for discussion, debate and development on European themes. With the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, the city and region became inextricably linked with Europe. Throughout 2022, various activities are planned in the context of the Treaty’s 30th anniversary. These will reflect on its significance for the past, present and future of European cooperation.

Activities celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty

Limburg is located on the edge of the Netherlands, but in the heart of Europe. What does the Conference on the Future of Europe mean for Limburg? And to what extent are the topics discussed relevant to the province? In the third video, Regional Minister Maarten van Gaans-Gijbels shares the Limburg perspective on the conference. 

Maastricht University is the most European university in the Netherlands. What does the Conference on the Future of Europe mean for the university and its community? What are the university’s hopes for Europe’s future? Rianne Letschert, President of Maastricht University, reflects on these questions in the fourth instalment of our web series. 

EU in the world and migration in focus

The citizens’ panels in Maastricht will become a platform for dialogue addressing the topics ‘EU in the world’ and ‘migration’. Two hundred participants will have a chance to engage at the confernce centre MECC in Maastricht. Translations will be provided directly into the 24 official languages of the EU, making this a truly European event.

Read more about the topic migration
Read more about the topic EU in the world

Europeans are discussing their future with each other. This is the first time this is happening in the form of a citizens’ summit. How did this come about? What topics will be covered? Professor of Contemporary European History and European Integration, Mathieu Segers, associated with Studio Europa Maastricht as Europa Chair, explains all this in the fifth episode.

The citizens’ summit will start on 11 February in Maastricht, and 200 EU citizens will discuss the themes of migration and the EU in the world. In our web series on the Conference on the Future of Europe, we have explained what the conference is about and what it means for Europeans through interviews with administrators and experts. In the sixth and final episode, we recap the key findings.

The Conference on the Future of Europe in Maastricht 

The European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) and Studio Europa Maastricht have been selected by the European Council, EU Commission and European Parliament to offer expertise and support to the organisation of a European citizens’ summit in Maastricht, as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe. In addition to Maastricht, citizens’ summits will be held in Dublin, Florence and Warsaw.

About EIPA
The European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) is one of the longest standing experts in European public affairs, having been established in Maastricht in 1981. Its mission is the dissemination of knowledge on EU policies related to EU public affairs to all professionals, with the key objective of further improving their skills and capabilities for efficient management of the policies. EIPA has its headquarters in Maastricht and an office in Luxembourg.
Read more about EIPA: www.eipa.eu

About Studio Europa Maastricht
Studio Europa Maastricht is a centre of expertise for Europe-related debate and research founded in 2018 and supported by the partners of the Maastricht, Working on Europe programme: Maastricht University, the Province of Limburg and the City of Maastricht. Together we aim to position Maastricht, the capital of Limburg, as a meeting place for citizen dialogue and debate and establish a centre of excellence for research on Europe and European integration.
For more information about Studio Europa Maastricht, please visit our website.

30 years Maastricht Treaty projects