Launch of the citizens' mandate: How do we make citizens matter?

Colombe Cahen-Salvador is the co-founder and the Policy Lead at Volt Europa, where she is responsible for the creation of policies and the political direction of the movement. Volt Europa is a pan-European movement now present in 31 countries, that aims to revolutionise the way politics is done on the European level. She previously worked for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, as a legal fellow in the International Strategic Litigation Unit. She has been awarded the inaugural Duke Law School’s International Law and Human Rights Fellowship, during which she worked at the OHCHR and at the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Lara Comi is currently member of the EPP Presidency as Vice-Chair, where she is in charge of youth policy, communication strategy and relations with China and the Americas. She was elected to the Italian Parliament in 2008 before joining the European Parliament the following year. Comi has been a member of several European delegations for relations with third countries, currently serving on the Committee for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and the delegation for relations with the United States. In addition to these roles, she has held the position of appointed Rapporteur for the Opinion on European Union Defense for the past 5 years.

Merja Kyllönen is a Finnish Member of the European Parliament, having been elected in 2014. Prior to this, she held office at the Finnish Parliament and served as Minister of Transport, where she was instrumental in encouraging the implementation of a toll charge to incentivise public transport use. She is both a group coordinator and an active member of the Committee on Transport and Tourism. She is also a member of the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. Furthermore, Kyllönen plays an active role within the GUE–NGL as a member of the group’s Bureau.

Florent Marcellesi has been a Member of the European Parliament for the Spanish Green party EQUO since 2016 and was previously spokesperson for the party. He is currently a member of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality and the Vice-President of the European Forum for Renewable Energy Sources (EUFORES). In addition to this, he serves as a member of the think tank Ecología Politica and has authored titles such as “Which Europe do we want?”. He was trained as a civil engineer and urban planner, and is a specialist in international cooperation.

Ricardo Serrão Santos has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2014. Aside from his role as coordinator of the Socialist Group for Fisheries, Serrao Santos serves as Vice-Chairman of the Intergroup, “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development”. A sitting member of a variety of scientific advisory bodies, of which the Paris Oceanographic Institute, he was recently selected to join the UNESCO group responsible for drawing up the United Nations agenda for the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). He has accumulated several honourable mentions, prizes and awards, including a Gift to the Earth, WWF’s highest accolade. In 2012, he received the Autonomous Insignia of Recognition of the Azores and was later knighted “Chevalier de l’Ordre de Saint Charles” by Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Pavel Telička is the Vice-President of the European Parliament responsible for Human Rights and Democracy. Among his previous posts, he served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, State Secretary for European Affairs and Chief Negotiator of the Accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union. His contribution to the country’s successful integration into the EU has earned him both a Memorial Medal and recognition from former President, Vaclav Havel. Prior to being elected to the European Parliament in 2014, Telička served as the Czech Ambassador to the EU and as the first Czech European Commissioner. He is currently the coordinator of ALDE MEPs in the Committee on Transport and Tourism.