Professor Brigid Laffan:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to engage with it today. I will make two contextual points and three core points about the conference itself. As to context, the idea of a conference on the future of Europe was one of President Macron’s grands projetsfor Europe but it really only became a possibility when Ursula von der Leyen, the new Commission President, proposed it in her engagement with the European Parliament before she was voted on. The reason she needed to do it was that she had not come through the Spitzenkandidaten process, like Juncker had, and, therefore, in order to get the support of the Parliament, she needed to offer something that the Parliament wanted. Therefore, the Parliament is very interested in the conference on the future of Europe.

It also linked to her three core political priorities - the green deal, digital and Europe's role in the world. Of course, the whole context of the conference has been dramatically altered by Covid-19 and its impact on our societies and economies. The focus of all governments and parliaments across Europe now will be on the recovery from Covid. The question is how much bandwidth politics and public policy will have in Europe over the next two years to engage with the future of Europe. There is cause for concern that the timing is bad or, in other words, that it will look as if this is very disconnected from the everyday experiences of the people of Europe.

Nonetheless, it is going to happen, I think, and, therefore, it is very important that it concentrates on Europe's big challenges. Of course, it has not got off the ground yet. There is still a discussion on its scope, on its organisation and on who should chair. The German Presidency has worked on it but has not managed to secure agreement on the modus operandi of the conference.

I will move to my three substantive points. First, as I said, this conference should concentrate on substance. It should concentrate on how we address climate, on the digital transition and on Europe's new political economy, given Covid has accelerated and accentuated important trends in our economy, on public health and on Europe's role in the world. These are the imperative, compelling issues. I would not want a conference on the future of Europe at this stage to really engage on the nitty-gritty of institutional roles and inter-institutional bargaining. This is not a time for battles about how Europe does its business; it is really about what Europe should do.

Second, it is very important that the process is as participative and deliberative as possible. This should not be a Brussels insider process. There is a very important responsibility and opportunity for national parliaments to play their full role. National parliaments have two important roles, first, to engage actively in the conference over its duration but, second, and this in some ways is almost more vital, to educate the public, to interrogate the positions of governments and to ensure the public knows about this. In terms of engaging with the public, to use dialogues, forums and all of the techniques we now have - which, of course, are mostly digital given the times we are in – to engage both organised civil society and the broader society will be extremely important. I would also add that there should be a European perspective, not just an accumulation of national perspectives. We need both; we need the national but also the European.

It is far too early to assess the outcome and the scope, but it could well be that the conference will end up with recommendations and then, subsequently, treaty change that will require a referendum in Ireland. Therefore, from now, from the beginning of this conference, it is extremely important that the Irish electorate is informed about what is going on. Why? It is because we know, as the data and the research has told us, that one of the most fundamental reasons in Ireland for voting against treaty change has always been a lack of knowledge. In other words, “Vote 'No' if you don't know” is a very compelling argument. Therefore, there is a particular issue, given we are referendum country, for us to be attentive to the educational role from the beginning.

I will leave it at that. I look forward to our discussion.