The EU's Conference on the Future of Europe is presenting proposals for a better Europe on Monday to French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine providing the backdrop to the EU's presentation, von der Leyen is keen for the bloc to react to the challenges on its doorstep while also looking at potential reforms.
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "the unthinkable has returned to our continent" and has "reminded us of the dangers of losing both your past and your future," von der Leyen said at the conference on Monday.
The ceremony in Strasbourg marks the conclusion to a proposal the Commission and the European Parliament announced at the end of 2019, with the aim of looking at the medium- to long-term future of the bloc.
President Macron had wanted the Conference to focus on the EU's post-Brexit future and what lessons could be learned from the coronavirus pandemic. However, given recent developments in Ukraine, which shares a border with four EU member states — Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland — the conflict is set to have an influence on the agenda.
Speaking in the European Parliament, von der Leyen delivered a message directed to Ukraine, saying: "the future of Europe is also your future. The future of our democracy is also the future of your democracy."
She added that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially submitted his country's application to join the EU — filing over 5,000 pages of a questionnaire to move their membership bid forward.
She also took aim at Russia's military parade and President Vladimir Putin's effort to defend the invasion of Ukraine.
Von der Leyen praised the over 300 reform proposals being considered at the conference — and put her support behind efforts to re-think the bloc's practice of needing a unanimous vote to pass measures.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for more wide-sweeping reforms to revamp the EU.
In a speech in Strasbourg, he backed efforts to discuss changes to the treaties that govern the bloc.
"We need to reform our texts — it's obvious," Macron said.
He said that while Ukraine "is already a member of the family of the European Union," under current protocols it would take "years if not decades" for Kiev's membership bid to be finalized.