Conference on the Future of Europe: European Citizens’ Panel on 24-26 September

Media are invited to the sessions of the European Citizens’ Panels, which continue with the second 200-citizen meeting set to take place at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

This media advisory provides information on the arrangements relating to the first meeting of the second European Citizens’ Panel, including how to follow and cover it.

The second European Citizens’ Panel will focus on European democracy/values, rights, the rule of law, and security. Citizens will be welcomed by the Slovenian Secretary of State for EU Affairs and Co-Chair of the Conference’s Executive Board, Gašper Dovžan.

You can download a copy of the weekend’s programme

When: Friday 24 September 2021 (14.00, CEST) to Sunday 26 September 2021 (14.00, CEST).

Where: European Parliament in Strasbourg

Background

The European Citizens’ Panels are a central feature of the Conference organised by the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission based on their Joint Declaration. The Panels’ deliberations are based on citizens’ contributions collected from across Europe on the Multilingual Digital Platform, as well as support and presentations from prominent academics. Find out more about how the Panels work and what they will deliver in our recent press release.

The first European Citizens' Panel meeting took place from 17 to 19 September at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where 200 citizens from across the Member States (a third of them younger than 25) debated topics related to a stronger economy, social justice, jobs / education, youth, culture, sport / digital transformation. Free audiovisual material is available on Parliament’s Multimedia Centre.

On Monday 20 September, the Executive Board of the Conference welcomed the promising start of the landmark Panel session that was held the preceding weekend. At the same meeting, the Executive Board also took stock of the findings of the first interim report from the Multilingual Digital Platform (which takes into account nearly 20,000 contributions registered between May and August 2021), and discussed the working methods and procedures related to the Conference Plenary.

Download an infographic on the Conference’s timeline and the Commission’s Factsheet, or read about the practical modalities of the Panels and download the provisional calendar of the Conference.

Interviews with citizens

Media representatives will be able to interview citizens who are willing to engage with journalists, using Parliament’s dedicated spaces and equipment if needed (booking required). EP press officers will be available to facilitate the process and liaise where necessary.

Further media opportunities (update)

A technical briefing, to be provided by the staff of the Common Secretariat of the Conference, will be held at 13.00. Journalists in Strasbourg can join in person in room N01.2, while remote participation will also be possible. To receive further information, including instructions on how to connect remotely, please contact media-seminars@europarl.europa.eu.

Media requests related to the presence of the Council’s Co-Chair of the Conference and Slovenia’s Secretary of State Gašper Dovžan should be addressed to Damijan.Fiser@gov.si.

Additional exchanges with members of the Common Secretariat, the Panels’ facilitators, and any observers to the Panels from the Executive Board that may be present, as well as other technical experts, may also be possible throughout the weekend, to be organised upon request.

Audio-visual coverage

Excerpts from the plenary meetings plenary meetings of the European Citizens’ Panels, i.e. in which all 200 of their members will participate, will be broadcast on EbS/EbS+ and live streamed on the Conference Platform and Parliament’s Multimedia Centre, where the recordings will remain available for download.

Accreditation

Annual press badges (either inter-institutional badges or EP badges) are valid. Journalists without an access badge need to request accreditation before 24 September at 15.00 via the journalist registration website. Badges must be collected from the Strasbourg reception desk located on the LOW-Parvis entrance to Parliament by 24 September at 16.00.

COVID-19 prevention measures

Journalists can attend, provided they strictly follow the health restrictions and measures put in place by the French authorities and the European Parliament. Any media physically present at the event are requested to respect social distancing of 1.5 m while on EP premises and to wear a medical face mask at all times. Entrance to Parliament wearing so-called ‘community masks’ or other masks made of textiles will not be allowed.

Access

Media access will be facilitated through the main entrance to the Louise Weiss building. The doors will open at 12:00 on Friday 24 September. The separate press entrance will be closed.

Working areas

The following areas will be accessible for journalists:

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  Working space and access to the video feed inside the press room
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  Press gallery of the chamber (the chamber itself will not be accessible to journalists and camera crews)
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  Media space outside the Hemicycle for video recording (booking required)

Wi-Fi will be available in all parts of the building. The login and password will be communicated on the day.

Audiovisual facilities (booking required)

The following audiovisual services will be provided:

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  Live camera positions in self-service near the chamber. Each media is to bring its own equipment and cabling; power and internet broadband connection will be available
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  Multimedia studio

To allow us to best facilitate your work, please send in your requests before Friday 24 September 13:00 to avplanning@europarl.europa.eu. Please note that the usual range of audio-visual facilities (TV and radio studios, crews, editing ...) will be limited.

Photo Opportunities (booking required)

Photo and video pools will be organised for the:

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  Photo opportunities in the hemicycle (access exclusively reserved for photographers upon registration - see contact below)
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  Chamber (access exclusively reserved for photo agencies)

All journalists will be able to follow the Live coverage from the Press Room screens.

AV Planning

For any questions linked to the programme or the facilities, please contact the EP audio-visual press team:

Assistance for audio-visual journalists | News | European Parliament (europa.eu)