Italian participation in the Conference on the Future of Europe: lights and shadows

Abstract

The Conference on the Future of the Union was launched on the initiative of the President of the Commission von der Layen to encourage the young European democracy to grow and to shorten the distance between the Union and its citizens, hopefully also to launch a useful process of revision of the European Treaties. However, this democratic exercise aimed at involving the greatest number of European citizens, required in order to materialize – as often happens in Europe – an active commitment from national governments. The article illustrates the Italian side of this process, which took place in the period from 9 May 2021 to 9 May 2022 – the actors, the initiatives, and the outcomes – and it outlines a first provisional assessment