On Monday, Renew Europe launched a series of roundtables taking place in different cities across the EU as part of a new On The Ground initiative. This will engage stakeholders, citizens and politicians in a productive dialogue on today’s most pressing issues and set the agenda for the future. 

The aim of this initiative is to further involve citizens in discussing Europe ahead of the important 2024 elections and the first event kicked off in Sofia, focusing on the Bulgarian contribution to full European integration. 

Monday’s debate offered an open discussion with citizens in Bulgaria, who exchanged their views and were addressed by Renew Europe MEPs, Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission, and Janez Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis Management, each looking at various ways to advance European integration. 

🇪🇺 Thrilled to have hosted @MalikAzmani & @EPoptcheva at the @RenewEurope roundtable in Sofia, Bulgaria!

Insightful discussions on strengthening #Schengen, fortifying the #Eurozone, and accelerating the #GreenTransition. pic.twitter.com/5heb2tBE95

— Ilhan Kyuchyuk (@ilhankyuchyuk) September 18, 2023

ALDE Party Co-President Ilhan Kyuchyuk MEP (MRF, BG) shared his remarks at the event: “Achieving full European integration is not just a plea of Bulgaria. It's an imperative to the EU, if we want the achieve the Treaty goal for ever closer Union among the people of Europe, a Union that is strong enough to brace the quickly changing realities. 

“An important element of that is achieving Schengen and Eurozone membership, a sustainable economy, integrated energy market and agriculture in every Member State and I am happy that we had the chance to bring these important European topics to the Bulgarian citizens.” 

ALDE Party Vice-President and First Vice-President of Renew Europe Group, Malik Azmani MEP (VVD, NL) said: “European liberals are key to the renewal of the European project. We need bold liberal ideas to turn Europe into a real geopolitical actor that is able to act quickly. Renew Europe is therefore on the ground to engage with citizens and stakeholders so that we can shape our future together for a stronger, safer and more prosperous Europe,” he said. 

“With new liberals amongst our ranks, we will have new ideas for the future of Europe in a time when we need it. We have to encourage our young people to get out and participate, so that we can make 2024 a turning point for a more liberal Europe.” 

The Renew Europe On The Ground initiative will reach many other European cities, including Bordeaux, Riga, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Helsinki and Porto, hosting debates on topics such as disinformation in the EU, the green transition in the Nordic countries, artificial intelligence and liberal reforms for Romania.