By 2030 226 million citizens of 15 member states of the European Union will recognise themselves in a "multiple" identity, i.e. a national and European one, versus the 177 million of 2004. So one can assume that the future of Europe will entail a "growth in European identity" despite the “votes against” of France and Holland to the Constitutional treaties that have endangered the European integration process. This is the realisation and the statistic forecast of the Austrian demographer Wolgang Lutz, who spoke this morning at the opening conference of “Empower”, the Social Forum on Communication, which is under way in Bergamo until tomorrow. On the invitation of the European Commission, the meeting brings together over 400 delegates of 300 NGOs from 27 countries (including Romania and Bulgaria), to contribute their ideas as to how to improve dialogue and communication between the citizens and the European Union. The initiative takes inspiration from the publication of the European White Paper on communication and is one of the 5 forums about the same subject that are to be held in different European cities. "The citizens, by voicing their needs, must help the politicians solve the many European issues that have been brought up, from migration to employment, to health”, said, as he opened the meeting, Claus Sorensen, managing director of the Communication GM of the European Commission. (to be continued)
