The delegations of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments that are taking part in the Conference on the Future of Europe will be meeting this afternoon in mixed mode, some in Brussels and some from their European capitals. It is the first time such kind of meetings are held as part of the journey that is going to rethink the EU, as reported by the European Parliament in a notice. Items on the agenda include three points: how to strengthen European democracy (with a focus on the law-making powers of parliaments, the European election and an effective decision-making process for the EU); what political priorities in the EU’s common foreign, security and defence policy, economic governance and EU budget; how to launch a EU permanent mechanism for citizens’ participation and consultation. The meeting, which will last two and a half hours and will be streamed live, will be chaired by Guy Verhofstadt, Co-Chair of the Executive Board of the Conference, Jean-François Rapin of the French Senate, and Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade of the French National Assembly.