Judges are prominent actors with a significant impact on European integration. Yet, no references to them appear in the Joint Declaration on the Conference authored by the Commission, Council and the Parliament. This corresponds to a view, unsustainable in the age of extensive access to information, that judges sit in ivory towers and speak exclusively through their decisions that other actors then explain to the broader public. Moreover, the exclusion artificially reduces the relevance of judges in shaping the future of the EU and the potential of impactful interactions between the Conference participants on the status quo and development of judiciaries in the EU.