On May 7, the Portuguese Closing Session for the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) was held at the Serralves Foundation in Porto. This ceremony, hosting the national Portuguese representatives of the CoFoE in Strasburg, the State Secretary for European Affairs and the Portuguese Prime Minister, marked a closing chapter of the efforts made for the Conference, giving an overview of what was done on the national level.

The second birthday of our coalition Citizens Take Over Europe is approaching. And we will celebrate it on the 7th of May in Strasbourg during the Strasbourg Summit organized by the Federalists movements. During our debate “Convention for a people-powered Europe: The future of democratic participation” we will discuss the need for a European Convention and how the Conference on the Future of Europe can become the kick-off for the democratization of the EU.

In order to ensure that the EU institutions walk the talk, it is essential that all possible instruments are used in order to follow up on the outcomes of the Conference on the Future of Europe. With this letter, we call on you to take the lead in your respective institutions to launch a Convention, and to do so in the most inclusive and participatory manner possible.

We acknowledge the urgency of acting for Democratising, Decolonizing and Decarbonizing our societies to achieve ecological, economic and social justice.

We recommend that the EU reopens the discussion about the constitution of Europe with a view to creating a constitution informed by the citizens of the EU. Citizens should be able to vote in the creation of such a constitution.

Many of the 178 recommendations of the randomly selected European Citizens’ Panels require changes to the EU’s constitutional architecture, the treaties. One of them explicitly calls for reopening “the discussion about the constitution of Europe with a view to creating a constitution informed by the citizens of the EU.