Germany and France have drawn up a blueprint for a two-year “Conference on the Future of Europe” aimed at overhauling nearly all aspects of how the EU functions, including possible treaty changes if need be, with a goal of making the bloc “more united and sovereign,” according to a document seen by POLITICO.
The blueprint proposes that EU leaders hold a first discussion on the conference at their summit in Brussels next month. It calls for a two-phase initiative, with the first starting early next year and focused on “EU democratic functioning,” especially “regarding elections and designations in key positions.”
The document was circulated to EU member countries on Monday and is expected to be discussed by ambassadors on Wednesday.
The two-page blueprint does not offer a huge amount of detail, but calls for an event of large ambition, that would be led by a “senior European personality” who would chair a steering group of experts and require a major role of all three EU institutions: the Commission, Council and Parliament.
Former Belgian Prime Minister and longtime MEP Guy Verhofstadt has been mentioned frequently in Brussels as one of the potential contenders for the chair position.
Via Politico
20th May 2026
The Italian health ministry issued a circular detailing preventive measures linked to the outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, a strain of Ebola, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uga...
20th May 2026
GO plc, Malta's leading integrated communications and digital services group, today held its Annual General Meeting, where shareholders were presented with a landmark set of financial re...
20th May 2026
Updated 1100
MUMN Slams Allied Health Deal as ‘Betrayal’ to Nurses and Midwives: The Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses has requested a meeting with Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela o...
19th May 2026
Updated 1015
Public Sector Engineers Warn Infrastructure at Risk Without Reform: Malta’s public sector architects and engineers say infrastructure and long-term national plans are at ...
19th May 2026
Former Polish president and anti-communist icon Lech Wałęsa was among the first recipients of the newly established European Order of Merit, receiving the EU’s highest distinction during...
28th April 2026
The European Parliament has thrown its weight behind demands for a bigger long-term EU budget, approving its position for negotiations on the bloc’s next seven-year financial framework f...
20th May 2026
GO plc, Malta's leading integrated communications and digital services group, today held its Annual General Meeting, where shareholders were presented with a landmark set of financial re...
20th May 2026
Pharmaceutical and medical devices company Vivian has reported a 28.8% reduction in energy consumption over the past year, significantly surpassing the 5% benchmark required to qualify f...
14th April 2026
“A company’s workplace culture praised by management, needs to be taken with caution. But when the recognition comes directly from employees, that carries greater weight,” says JONATHAN ...
14th April 2026
EU lawmakers have approved new rules aimed at strengthening how failing banks are managed, extending protections to a wider range of institutions and depositors across the bloc.
The p...
20th May 2026
GO plc, Malta's leading integrated communications and digital services group, today held its Annual General Meeting, where shareholders were presented with a landmark set of financial re...
20th May 2026
Pharmaceutical and medical devices company Vivian has reported a 28.8% reduction in energy consumption over the past year, significantly surpassing the 5% benchmark required to qualify f...
8th May 2026
The United States launched what it described as “self-defense” strikes against Iranian military targets after three US Navy destroyers came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, sharply ...
6th May 2026
French shipping giant CMA CGM reported that its vessel San Antonio was attacked while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving several crew members injured and the ship damaged. The...
25th February 2026
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
9th February 2026
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
16th May 2026
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia was seeking to draw Belarus deeper into its war in Ukraine and was weighing plans to attack Ukraine's north or a NATO country from Belarus...
14th May 2026
Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities have named former presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak as a suspect in a major graft investigation involving alleged money laundering.
Accor...