Bringing Europe's citizens closer together, making them discuss the future of European life. This was the main objective of the Conference on the Future of Europe that passed, this Friday, December 10th, by Faro, and was attended by the Secretary of State for European Affairs, for whom it is "essential" that people understand that "we are Europe".
Speaking to journalists, Ana Paula Zacarias considered that the objective is for this to be "a multiplier event".
That is: «that the people who are here can, themselves, create their events and place, on a digital platform, their ideas, their initiatives».
To fulfill this purpose of opening up to society, the conference was attended by representatives of civil society, schools ambassadors of the European Parliament, but also with officials such as Margaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission (via online), Alma Rivera, deputy of the PCP in the Assembly of the Republic, and Carlos Zorrinho, deputy of the PS in the European Parliament.
In the opinion of Ana Paula Zacarias, it is “essential that people participate in the European debate and get to know the policies”.
"Europe is all around us and it is part of our life: it is not something that is decided in Brussels by a group of people we do not know", added the Secretary of State for European Affairs.
"We are Europe and, therefore, we need to discuss the policies that have an impact on our daily lives," he said.
In this sense, during the conference, Margaritis Schinas, vice-president of the European Commission, considered that this initiative should have “its focus on people and be thought of from the bottom up – and not the other way around”.
For this future of Europe, the role of young people, said Ana Paula Zacarias, is fundamental.
"They are the ones who will build the Europe of tomorrow and young people can work on all issues, such as the pandemic, the macroeconomic and financial part or sustainable growth, from a different perspective", he concluded.
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