In our "YOU're Europe" project, supported by the EMI through their "Together for Europe" programme, we aimed to put the spotlight on EU citizens and European values. Approaching these topics from different angels, there will be attention to economic rights as well as to values of democracy and human rights. Moreover, as European Movement in Belgium, we are in a unique situation to have our own country presiding the Council of the EU. Therefore, we brought all of this together under the overarching umbrella of the upcoming Belgian Presidency of the EU (from 1 January to 30 June 2024). In order to establish a dialogue with citizens, we see are three elements which come into play and are linked to each of our planned events.


First, what is Belgian Presidency all about, and what are priorities for Belgium? The Single Market is undoubtedly a big priority for Belgium as we are a very open, market-oriented economy. Moreover, the Single Market probably has the biggest direct impact on EU citizens' lives, and is thus an important space within which EU values spread, perhaps even without people realizing it. It’s almost like an invisible link between citizens across all Member States. Therefore, we are preparing to host an event that brings together citizens with key political and economic stakeholders.

 

Second, we aim to interact directly with citizens. By exchanging ideas and asking questions about what they believe the Belgian Presidency should be about, we hope to raise awareness about the Belgian Presidency and European affairs more generally. To do so, we went out onto the streets to have direct dialogues with Belgian citizens. In addition, we also prepared a podcast on major topics related to European Union, including:


Finally, to make the link complete, we continued this dialogue in a more structural way, going beyond quick questions in the streets. Concretely, in October we hosted an event in Wallonia where we discussed with a varied group of people what European values mean to them, if they feel those values are currently reflected and how the Belgian Presidency can make them feel more connected or closer to these values and the EU as a whole. Information on this event can be found here.

YOU're Europe!