The Czech Republic will join the EU Citizens’ Consultations Initiative, launched by French president Emmanuel Macron. The round of debates with citizens on concrete aspects of European integration will be opened on Thursday, 10th of May 2018, with the participation of the Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and French Minister Nathalie Loiseau, at the La Fabrika building in Prague.
In the Czech Republic, the citizens‘ consultations will start ceremoniously on 10th of May 2018 at La Fabrika building in Prague, under the auspices of the ALDE group, with the support of MEPs Dita Charanzová and Martina Dlabajová.The debate will begin at 5:00 PM. You can register at (rsvp@vlada.cz) by 8th of May.
After the opening words of Andrej Babiš, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and the Minister of European Affairs of the French Republic, Nathalie Loiseau, the debate with citizens will follow on the topic „What kind of Union do we want? Why We Need to Discuss Europe with Citizens? „, moderated by Jan Macháček from the Institute for Politics and Society.
Origins of the Citizens‘ Consultations Initiative
The initiative of citizens’ consultations was presented by French president Emmanuel Macron. During his presidential campaign in October 2016, he declared that European citizens should have an opportunity to comment more on EU issues. Citizens’ consultations officially started on April 17th 2018 during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
During the next few months, a number of European debates and seminars will take place across the 26 EU Member States. Their goal is to discuss the needs and visions of European citizens and to determine what role should the EU play in the future. All in the context of the forthcoming European Parliament elections, that will take place next year.
Citizens’ consultations in the regions
The main part of this initiative in the Czech Republic will be held in regions across the country. There will be a total of ten debates in various Czech cities, during which citizens will have the opportunity to express their views on the future direction of the EU. The debates will be attended by representatives of state administration bodies and regional personalities.
In the cities, the debates will focus on various aspects of European integration. The discussions will take place between May and October in cities of Brno, Litomyšl, Olomouc, Jihlava, Kroměříž, Opava, České Budějovice, Plzeň, Ústí nad Labem and Liberec. During autumn, the results of these citizens‘ consultations will be evaluated at the closing event in Prague. The results of EU-wide citizens‘ consultations should also be presented at the end of the year to the European Council.
