Ministers to tour country to listen Finns´ idea for future Europe

This autumn and winter, Finnish ministers will tour the country to listen to Finns’ ideas and hopes for the future of Europe, said an official press release on Tuesday.

The citizens’ messages will be passed on as part of an EU-level reflection on what kind of Europe Finland wants to build.

“The EU has to respond to the needs and expectations of its citizens. We want to encourage Finns to make their thoughts heard. As ministers, we are committed to passing on their messages,” said Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen.

The details of the tour are still being finalised, but several ministers have already arranged at least one discussion with citizens.

The events will take place in various parts of the country, and one of Finland’s goals is to organise the northernmost event in the EU.

The themes raised at citizens’ events throughout the EU will be presented to the conference plenaries for discussion.

The Finnish Government will be represented at the plenaries by Minister for European Affairs Tuppurainen and the minister whose mandate covers the topic in question. Each country has also appointed a citizens’ representative. Finland’s representative is Ninni Norra, who was selected by the Finnish National Youth Council Allianssi.

An important component of the Conference on the Future of Europe is its multilingual digital platform, which is open to all and where everyone is free to share their thoughts. Citizens are encouraged to discuss topics such as values, climate change, the economy, health and education.

Event organisers can use the platform to announce their events beforehand and to report on the discussions afterwards. Anyone who wants to organise an event is free to do so.

The dates and venues of the “We are Europe” tour will be announced on the platform well in advance.