Citizens' Dialogue in Allinge (Bornholm) with Commissioner Margrethe Vestager

On Thursday 13 June Commissioner Vestager held a Citizens’ Dialogue during the annual political festival on the Danish island of Bornholm, “Folkemødet”.

Commissioner Vestager opened the “Europe Tent” at the Folkemødet political festival in Allinge, Bornholm, with a very lively and engaging debate. Her annual “state of the union” with renowned TV journalist Ole Ryborg always attracts lots of attention.

This year it was even more so, with one week to go before the European Council summit. Mr Ryborg took the opportunity to praise the strong women in the Commission, most notably Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen and Ditte Juul-Jørgensen, who were both in the audience for the debate.

The debate started with Commissioner Vestager’s remit, i.e. competition and state aid, but then moved to other topics like the rule of law, climate change, energy and the circular economy, before touching upon Brexit and the forecast for a new Commission. The overall theme of Folkemødet this year is the Sustainable Development Goals.

Questions from participants were very varied, from immigration policy to the seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Other participants asked about minimum standards for environmental legislation and whether companies really end up paying their fines and where does this money go to.