At the conference ‘Building Together the EU We Want’, civil society organisations discussed the EU they want and proposed priorities for the new mandate. We were part of the discussions.
Held by the Civil Society Organisations’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 16 April, the event brought together civil society organisations at the European and national levels to discuss their political priorities. The conclusions and recommendations made at the conference will feed into an EESC resolution with policy proposals for the new European Parliament and European Commission, to be adopted in July 2024.
In the face of rising extremism, participants highlighted the urgent need for the EU to reinforce democracy in delivering on the most pressing policy issues and strengthening the dialogue between the EU and its citizens to increase the trust in the EU.
Referring to the commitment to a more social Europe – recently reaffirmed in the La Hulpe Declaration – Séamus Boland, President of EESC’s Civil Society Organisations’ Group, called on the EU and its member states to fully recognise the role of Civil Society organisations through a formal structured and meaningful civil dialogue.
AGE Secretary General, Maciej Kucharczyk, was part of the panel on ‘a democratic and inclusive EU of social justice and protection’. He insisted on the need to further promote equality as a core EU value.
‘Ahead of the European elections, we want to engage in dialogue with all pro-democratic forces to build a Union of democracy and equality. The Europe we want is for all ages.’
