Which Europe do we want in 2040? As of today, Cascais is the chosen location for a meeting that brings together five dozen “brilliant minds” to discuss the European future and influence key strategic decisions: the Conclave.
The name of the meeting refers to the meetings in which cardinals choose a new head of the Catholic Church from among their peers, but the root of the word means an area under lock and key. “The aim is to bring people together in the same room, without mobile phones, until white smoke comes out,” said Guillaume Klossa, president of the EuropaNova think tank, organizer of the event, which is heavily sponsored by the president of the Republic. .
“We chose Portugal because the country is willing to contribute to the discussion,” Klossa explained in a meeting with journalists.
At her side, Maria João Rodrigues, from the Conclave’s Executive Committee, recalls that the country has already been the scene of fundamental moments in European construction, such as the Presidency of the EU Council in 2007, in which the failed project for the European Constitution was again converted into the Treaty of Lisbon. Klossa was the envoy of the French presidency – whose voters had rejected the Constitution in a referendum – and Rodrigues was part of the treaty negotiating team.
Times are different, but the desire to shape the common future remains. The former Member of the European Parliament and current President of the European Foundation for Progressive Studies (FEPS) points to the approval, on Wednesday, in the European Parliament, of the reform of the treaties, that is to say of the European institutions, while at the same time putting pressure on the EU to proceed with further expansion.
Behind closed doors, in the Citadel of Cascais, participants will debate geopolitics, technology, energy, environment, climate, healthcare, social state and education, as well as the challenges of democracy.
Assuming that the West will no longer be the only one leading, “it is important to start identifying the right questions,” Klossa says.
The result will be translated into a report that should be ready in January, in time to be handed over to EU leaders and presented at the monthly meeting of heads of diplomacy, and – the organizers hope – to contribute contribute to the debate on the European elections in June.
Source: DN
