On Tuesday, 18 May from 14:00 – 15:00 CEST, the European Movement International held the eighth edition of EuropeanChats, this time featuring AEGEE and ALDA.

EuropeanChats gathers activists and stakeholders from the European Movement International network, to discuss with European citizens different issues surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, and how it affects European economies and societies. We also aim to tackle the wider debate around the future of Europe.

Featuring:
Veronika Chmelárová, Secretary General, AEGEE (European Students’ Forum)
Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General, ALDA (European Association for Local Democracy)

Moderated by Petros Fassoulas, Secretary General, European Movement International

"What we are bringing with us is that local communities are even more important than before. The role of local governments in sorting out the difficulties with their own civil societies and citizens is the pillar of the recovery."💯

– Antonella Valmorbida, SG @ALDAeurope pic.twitter.com/ZxAVi6XnPz

— European Movement (@EMInternational) May 18, 2021

"There has been, and there still is, a lot of energy of people who want to contribute and who want to know. So this speed in digital transformation, also of local democracy, has brought some new opportunities."📡

– Antonella Valmorbida, SG @ALDAeurope pic.twitter.com/HZCuKPNjpn

— European Movement (@EMInternational) May 18, 2021

"I do think that many of the aspects right now that we have developed during the pandemic will stay in long term. Online events are indeed much faster to be organized. However, I do not think that they can completely replace human contact."
-Veronika Chmelárová, SG @AEGEE_Europe pic.twitter.com/fqTHfYHNPJ

— European Movement (@EMInternational) May 18, 2021

"The #CoFoE & the structuring of the EU have been long overdue and we have seen that the EU needs to be more dynamic & fitting for its citizens. It is our role as civil society to bring this conversation to the citizens & our membership”⚡️
– Veronika Chmelárová, SG @AEGEE_Europe pic.twitter.com/KBF8TWoCV5

— European Movement (@EMInternational) May 18, 2021

We encourage participants to join the discussions on Twitter by using the hashtag #EuropeanChats and the handles @EMInternational, @AEGEE_Europe and @AntoValmorbida.

More information regarding past editions of EuropeanChats is available here. To date, the discussions have featured the European Movement offices in Denmark, Croatia, Ireland, Finland, France, Austria, Norway and Romania, along with SGI Europe, ETUC, CEMR, Europa Nostra, GESAC and the European Youth Forum.