In a European Committee of the Regions' plenary debate on the Conference on the Future of Europe ECR member Roberto Ciambetti shared his vision of an ideal European Union – "an organisation that listens to the voices of regions and Member States. A community that cannot be reduced to a single political tradition."

The President of the Veneto Regional Council, Ciambetti, calls for the principle of subsidiarity to be at the basis of EU deliberations. This would mean that public tasks would be entrusted to communities at the lowest possible level: family, self-government and central authorities, and only as a last resort to supranational organisations, "when this brings clear added value", he specified. The principle of subsidiarity cannot only be a legal concept: "subsidiarity means that different traditions, customs and approaches to history are respected, therefore offering different socio-political solutions", he said.

On the topic of European integration, Mr Ciambetti described it as bringing tangible benefits in some areas such as the single market, cohesion policy and energy policy but he argued that "recently too many competences are being transferred to EU level, which the Treaties define in very general manner". Adding to this is the problem of the pace of integration in many other areas, which has long "since escaped the control of local governments and national parliaments", he stated.

Mr Ciambetti concaluded to say that he hopes that the Conference on the Future of Europe will not be an attempt to "further legitimise European centralisation", of which he feels there are already many alarming signs including the composition of the Executive Council in which only three European Parliament political groups are fully represented.

​The debate took place on 30 June.​