(Strasbourg) The European Parliament should “guide, host and advance its own proposals” about the Conference on the Future of Europe, the idea put forward by European Commission’s President-elect, Ursula von der Leyen, involving the European institutions over the 2020-2022 period. Antonio Tajani, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO), made this point in a confidential letter to EP President David Sassoli, following the Committee’s exchange of views. As soon as the new European Commission is elected, we need to hold a “plenary debate and vote on a resolution setting out the Parliament’s position on the organization and agenda of the Conference”, one that entrusts a “clear mandate” to those who will be instructed by Parliament to direct the conference process. After this, an “Interinstitutional Declaration”, negotiated between Parliament and the Commission, will set the “objectives, scope, underlying principles, structure and participation” of the Conference. Responsibility for initiating the process lies with the AFCO Committee, who will write a draft resolution to kick-start this journey that should lead to “an ever closer Union”. The AFCO Committee, Mr Tajani explained, will also follow the developments of the Conference at all levels, given the “nature and the potentially significant implications” of this initiative.