When: September 19th, 14.00-19.00
Where: Press Club, Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels
What:
The main
focus will be on political rights
attached to freedom of movement in
the European elections. Belgium is innovating and taking the lead in European
democratic reform having lowered the voting age to 16 in the European elections
following Austria, Malta and Greece (from 17). This means involving a new
cohort of 270,000 voters, who will be able to vote in the European elections on
9 June 2024. They will also be able to vote on 13 October 2024 in the local
elections. Extending the franchise to vote in regional and national elections
which also take place on 9 June would have required a change in the
Constitution but should be kept on the agenda.
How to reach
these first-time voters and motivate them? Can first-time EU citizen voters who
would be denied this right in their country of origin spread the word? Could
this be a spark to ignite extension of the franchise throughout Europe? Germany
is also introducing votes at 16 in the next European elections. If the main
focus of this conference will be on first-time voters, it will not be
exclusively on this group.
The event will take place in two-parts:
1) Conference exploring the lowering of the voting age to 16 in Belgium, with interactive workshops and panel discussions (14.00-17.30)
2) Open Meeting of the Cross-Party Group of MEP's on European Citizenship to discuss political rights and voting (17.30-19.00)
For those who would like to, feel free to join us at the Press Club from 12.30 for some light refreshments, informal conversations, and an interview with Joachim Wilke, assistant to MEP Damien Boeselager, rapporteur of the report for voting rights of mobile citizens.
