The joint regional conference "Increasing the Role of the Citizens in the Renewal of the EU” was held in Sofia on 28-29 April 2023. The event took place in the National Student House and was co-organised by UEF and UEF Bulgaria in the framework of UEF work plan for 2023.UEF activists from 10 European countries acquired knowledge and skills for promoting democratic values and shaped a vision how to achieve a more sovereign and democratic Europe from a federalist prospect.

Velko Ivanov, SG of UEF-Bulgaria opened the conference and welcomed the participants in Sofia. UEF President Sandro Gozzi addressed the participants online. He stressed that the federalists have to think out of the box in order to be the driving force behind the necessary and urgent reform of the EU including treaty revision. He urged the participants to sign the UEF petition to the European Council calling for the reform of the EU treaties. He emphasized that it’s very important to strengthen the European public space and to make the citizens aware about how a treaty reform, transnational lists and the abolition of the veto in the Council can lead to a very positive change in their daily life.

MEP Tsvetelina Penkova discussed with the participants how to bring the EU closer to the citizens. She stated that the citizens had contributed significantly to the positive outcome of the CoFoE and their voice could not be neglected and should be considered in order to make the EU more inclusive, more democratic and better functioning according to the findings of the CoFoE. In the afternoon James Joy delivered a training session on engaging the citizens with the European democracy.

On the day after Velko Ivanov, SG of UEF Bulgaria and Dimitar Uzunov, President of JEF Bulgaria acquainted the participants with the activities of the Bulgarian federalists in the run up to the European elections and Antonio Argenziano, President of JEF Europe presented the campaign EurHope. The discussion afterwards was live and continued more than it was envisaged. The participants also assessed the follow up of the CoFoE and shared knowledge and experience in how to take challenges and opportunities in organizing events and advocacy actions aiming to lobby the European institutions and Member states to renew the European project according to the Conference’s conclusions. Thus the project contributed to the campaign of the European federalists to promote a structural reform of the European Union, leading to a more coherent and stronger Union, to more intensified European integration. The ideas and knowledge generated during the seminar can be used by every participant and be implemented at local level.

The rich social program enabled the participants to explore the night life in Sofia.