A Citizens' Europe: Views From The European Parliament

The Conference on the Future of Europe Citizens’ Panel in Dublin Castle will take place on 25-27 February 2022, hosted by the IIEA, when citizens from across the EU will discuss the future of European economic, cultural, sport and digital policies. This is the third and final event in a series co-organised with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Dublin on the influence and role of the European Parliament in shaping the future of the EU in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe. About the Speakers and Chair: Colm Markey is an MEP representing the Midlands-North-West constituency for Fine Gael since 2020 and currently serves on the Agricultural and Rural Development (AGRI) in the European Parliament. Prior to becoming an MEP, Mr. Markey was a member and former chair of Louth County Council (2009-2020) and is the former president of the Irish young farmers association, Macra na Feirme. He is the current leader of the Louth Leader partnership for SMEs and runs a family farm in Togher, Co. Louth. Laurence Farreng is a French MEP representing Mouvement Démocrate (MoDem) since 2019, and is also a local councillor and the former Director of Communication, Events and Protocol for the city of Pau in southwestern France. Ms. Farreng is the Renew Europe Group Coordinator for the Culture and Education (CULT) Committee in the European Parliament, a member of the European Parliament’s delegation to the Conference on the Future of Europe and is the founder of the Bonjour l’Europe initiative facilitating youth placements in cities and universities across Europe. Josianne Cutajar MEP has represented the Maltese Labour Party in the European Parliament since 2019. She is the Vice-President of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand and serves on the Industry, Energy and Research (ITRE) Committee focusing on digital policy and the single market. Before becoming an MEP, Ms. Cutajar worked in the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta where she worked on issues of equal gender representation, domestic and gender-based violence. She holds a Doctor of Laws and a Masters of Laws in European and Comparative Law from the University of Malta. The event chair is David Farrell, Professor of Politics at University College Dublin (UCD), and Chair of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). Professor Farrell is an internationally regarded expert in political representation, elections, deliberative democracy and mini-publics. He has served as a research leader of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly, a member of the Stewarding Group of the Scottish Citizens’ Assembly and the Welsh Assembly's Expert Panel on Electoral Reform. Professor Farrell previously served as the Head of the School of Politics and International Relations at UCD, and professor and head of social sciences at the University of Manchester. He holds a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.