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Watch: Hundreds Of Europeans, Including Maltese, Speak Directly To EU Leaders In ‘Historic’ Event

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A years-long event aimed at bringing the European Union’s leaders closer to its citizens has come to an end, with an address by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola closing the campaign in Brussels, Belgium, today.

“Today, we are gathered here in the House of European Democracy – your House – to take stock of what we have done,” Metsola said before scores of the hundreds of European citizens from across the bloc each spoke.

“On Europe Day of 2021, at the Inaugural event of the Conference on the Future of Europe, my friend and predecessor David Sassoli, spoke about the importance of a proper and meaningful follow-up to the results of this historic exercise, by the three institutions, each at their own levels of competence,” she continued, before quoting Sassoli.

“He said, and I quote: ‘This vision of our European project will be the compass that must guide our work in the decade to come.'”

Metsola recounted a recent incident that where a young girl approached her.

“As we started speaking, I quickly noticed that she had so many positive ideas about how the European Union can help make things a little bit easier for the people who live in her area. I suggested that she writes to her Member of European Parliament. She replied: ‘you can do that?'”

“Sometimes it seems like the only contact people have with their elected representatives is through a ‘like’ or ‘comment’ on a social media post. Of course, we cannot force citizens to talk to their elected representatives but I believe we can do more to raise awareness.”

Watch Metsola’s full speech below:

The assorted citizens touched upon everything from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war to the environmental crisis the world faced to widespread inflation – all key issues seen throughout 2022. 

A number of Maltese citizens also attended the event, with one, 20-year-old Massimo from Mosta, saying he was there to raise more awareness on the topic of social justice across Europe.

“I hope this experience will be one that influences policymakers on a larger level and isn’t some form of tokenism,” he told Lovin Malta.

Aside from Metsola, the political representatives of the three main institutions (Guy Verhofstadt for the European Parliament, Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek on behalf of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, and Commissioner for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Šuica) were also in attendance, with Verhofstadt thanking the citizens for taking the time to come to Brussels to raise their voices.

You can find the report on the final outcome as well as the 49 proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe by following this link

What would you tell the leaders of the EU if you had the chance? Sound off in the comments below

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Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]

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