CUFFE WELCOMES CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPEClimate Action must be at the heart of its work The Green Party has welcomed today’s opening session of the Conference on the Future of Europe, calling on citizens to contribute to its work.Ciarán Cuffe MEP for Dublin said: “Today’s opening session in Strasbourg, France is the beginning of a process that continues until the first half of 2022. It is an opportunity for the public to suggest changes in the European Union’s policies and institutions in the years ahead.“As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken a million European lives, we must reform our institutions to respond more quickly to crises such as COVID-19. The major global challenges of our time -climate change, globalisation and migration require a pan-European response. They cannot be solved by actions at national level alone. We must up our ambition, particularly in tackling the climate and biodiversity crises. We require a political response aligned with what science demands. Business as usual cannot continue.“I welcome yesterday’s statement from the President Michael D. Higgins where he said that we must protect the human decency and solidarity that is the lifeblood of the European Project. However, to achieve this, we require greater ambition from our elected representatives at local, national, and European level.ENDSIssued 9.5.21