The European elections take the stage at the International Journalism Festival that is currently being held in the Italian city of Perugia. With 50 days to go until voting day, the European Parliament Office in Italy and the European Commission’s Representation in Italy are in the capital city of the region of Umbria today to attend the event “European elections, the countdown is on”. On 26 May, “it is the very idea of Europe and of the European Union as we know it today that is at stake”, the organisers explained. “How strong will the advance of Eurosceptic parties be? What is the likely distribution of power in the future European Parliament? What role can social networks play in giving information as correct and free from fake news as possible? And what can each of us, as ordinary citizens, do to promote democratic participation in the next European elections?”. These issues will be debated in today’s panel discussion (5pm, Brugnoli Hall of Palazzo Cesaroni) with Valeria Fiore, head of the European Parliament Office in Italy; Philipp Schulmeister, head of the Public Opinion Monitoring Unit of the European Parliament; Beatrice Covassi, from the European Commission’s Representation in Italy; and Laura Bononcini from Facebook. Journalist David Parenzo will moderate the debate. Andrea Fioravanti, editor-in-chief at the network of university radio stations “Europhonica”, will talk about the future projects of the network. Also taking the floor will be young people from the New Design Institute of Perugia (NID) in their capacity as ambassadors of the Stavoltavoto.eu campaign.