30/10/2012

On November 5, 2012 the second of a series of Citizens' Dialogues will be held in Graz. Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding and Austrian Vice-Chancellor Michael Spindelegger will discuss with some 500 citizens from Graz and Styria about the current crisis and about their ideas where the EU should be in 2020 in terms of rights, policies and governance. Moderated by Claudia Reiterer from the ORF regional studio the Deputy Governor of Styria, Christian Buchmann as well as Members of the Regional Parliament will intervene.

The debate in Graz which is organized with "Kleine Zeitung" as media partner will take place at 6 p.m. in the Old University Building (Hofgasse 14, 8010 Graz). Interested citizens are invited to register via the e-mail address townhallmeeting@jmc.cc or send their questions via twitter http://twitter.com/townhallmeeting. The event will also be broadcast live on the internet.

Vice-President Reding is engaged in listening to people from all walks of life. "The time when discussions could be taken behind closed doors is over!" Vice-President Reding underlined at the launch dialogue in Cadiz on September 27. It is planned to have an open exchange on what the EU, but also what Austria and Styria can do to overcome the crisis. She is planning to hear directly from students, workers, consumers and political actors what is needed in terms of rights and policies and where obstacles persist. Moreover, she encourages citizens to come forward with their ideas about the future of the Union. "We want to start a new Europe of the 500 million citizens." Vice-President Reding said. "My colleagues and I want to discuss with citizens before we present our plans for the future of the EU."

The debate in Graz follows two discussions jointly organized by the European Commission and the Austrian ministry of European and international affairs earlier this year in Mautern (Lower Austria) and Steyr (Upper Austria). More:http://ec.europa.eu/austria/news/2012_11_05_aviso_eu_townhall_meeting_graz_de.htm