Event report

The Thalia Theatre in Lisbon hosted on 28 July the national launch ceremony of the Conference on the Future of Europe (Cofe). This was the first event of the calendar of initiatives under Cofe promoted by the Government with six national partners: the Assembleia da República, the Economic and Social Council, the Office of the European Parliament in Portugal and the Representation of the European Commission in Portugal, the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) and the National Youth Council (CNJ). This event, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focused on the central role of takeholders who could be multipliers of Cofe events at national level. The event took place in a hybrid format, open by remote means to all interested parties upon registration, was moderated by Daniela Ferreira Pinto, and was attended by the presence and interventions of the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs (MENE), Augusto Santos Silva, and the Secretary of State for European Affairs (EEAS), Ana Paula Zacarias. Also attended the event were the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, the President of the European Affairs Committee of the Assembly of the Republic, Luís Capoulas Santos, the Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of his Delegation to Cofe, Pedro Silva Pereira, the President of the Economic and Social Council, Francisco Assis, the President of ANMP, Manuel Machado, and the President of the CNJ, João Pedro Videira. Members Paulo Moniz, Pedro Cegonho and Fabíola Cardoso also participated in the debate. For the European Parliament, Ms Sandra Pereira (Member of the European Parliament Delegation to Cofe) and, remotely, Margarida Marques also participated. The event was also attended by representatives of several Portuguese civil society organisations, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), the General Union of Workers (UGT), the Medical Association, the Portuguese Confederation of Environmental Defense Associations (CPADA), the Nature Association Portugal | WWF, the Minha Terra Federation, the Factory of Startups and the NGOD Platform. The Chairpersons of the Regional Coordination and Development Committees of the Centre and the Algarve as well as representatives of the Regional Government of Madeira and the Azores, the Ministry of Education and Erasmus Agencies were also present. In the course of the debate, the link with local authorities, the implementation of innovative formats and tools (e.g.: citizens’ assemblies; publicity), the involvement of schools and universities and organised and non-organised civil society as ways to reach a wider audience in this initiative. European competences in the field of health, the overall role of the European Union and a third path between the revision of the Treaties and the maintenance of the institutional status quo were also discussed. Finally, the themes of science and innovation, environmental protection and the fight against climate change, the ERASMUS+ programme, social protection, the fight against inequalities and European values were also addressed.