Bertelsmann Stiftung is initiating a pan-European
online debate on the Future of the EU starting 18 May
Together with the “Twelve Stars” project, the Bertelsmann Stiftung is initiating a pan-European online debate starting 18 May. The project aims to bring together leading EU experts and academics with citizens from across Europe to jointly discuss the most urgent questions about the future of Europe.
Gütersloh (Germany), 16 May 2018. Do we need a European Finance Minister? How soon should the EU conclude a free trade agreement with Great Britain? What position does the EU take towards Syria or Iran? The EU is facing multiple challenges in the coming years. An important change of course for its future will be set in the spring of 2019 with the elections to the European Parliament. However, EU-decisions are not only affecting experts and parliamentarians in Brussels and Strasbourg, but also over 600 million citizens of the European Union. In order to involve as many citizens as possible in debates and discussions before the parliamentary elections, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, together with the Twelve Stars project, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the University of Hamburg, will launch an online debate on urgent debates surrounding the future of the EU starting 18 May. Based on the contributions the respective authors and experts who lead the individual debates will revise and summarize their arguments, which will be published in the run-up to the European elections to the European parliament in May 2019.
From 18 May until June, experts from politics and philosophy will debate their concrete proposals for the future of the EU on a weekly basis. Debates will take place every week from Friday to Sunday, between 5 pm and 8 pm (CET). On the website, everyone can register for the respective debates and view the topics of future online discussions: www.twelvestars.eu/participate. For practical reasons the official language for the discussions will be English. At the beginning of each debate, a statement or question is presented from an expert. Then it is up to the participants: is the topic even relevant? What is your point of view on this matter?
The online debate is divided into five topics:
- Europe’s Constitution
- Europe’s money
- European solidarity
- Europe’s rules and laws
- Europe and the world
Kicking off the debate will be Peter Dietsch from the University of Montréal, who questions the low interest rate policy of the European Central Bank. Experts for the coming debates include: Cécile Fabre, Rainer Forst, Lisa Herzog, Jakub Kloc-Konkolowicz, Eszter Kollar, Kalypso Nicolaidis, Martin O’Neill or, Philippe van Parijs. They research and teach, among others, at the universities of Oxford, Louvain, Warsaw, Munich, Gothenburg, York, Florence, Cambridge or Harvard.
Contact person: Christian Kastrop, Director
Phone: +49 5241 81-811144
E-mail: christian.kastrop@bertelsmann-stiftung.de
About the Bertelsmann Stiftung: Inspiring People. Shaping the Future.
The Bertelsmann Stiftung works to promote equitable participation in society by all. Its goals are improving education, shaping democracy, advancing societies, promoting health, vitalizing culture and strengthening economies. Through its engagement, it seeks to encourage all citizens to contribute to their communities. The nonprofit foundation was founded by Reinhard Mohn in 1977.
Further information: www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en.