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The EU needs reform. The Conference on the Future of Europe and European Citizens Panels have demonstrated that citizens can be the driving force behind complex changes the EU must undergo, be it managing the poly-transition, preparing the EU for a potential enlargement to 30+ member states or pushing for the much-needed EU institutional and governance reform. Despite this potential, both EU and national decision-makers seem hesitant to fully leverage citizen participation. Participatory democracy in the EU is hitting an invisible ceiling that can only be broken if politicians and decision-makers at the European and national levels acknowledge and address the root causes blocking development.
The fourth edition of Democracy Conversations featured the conversation between the Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs Tiago Antunes and two of the Observatory experts – Senior Advisor at Bertelsmann Stiftung Dr. Dominik Hierlemann and Associate Director and Head of the European Politics and Institutions Programme at EPC Dr. Corina Stratulat.
Could integrating the existing instruments of EU citizen participation, such as the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) and European Citizens Panels (ECP), lead to greater citizen engagement, and what practical steps could be taken to achieve this synergy and enhance their impact?
Citizen participation is the instrument that could help the EU to confront ongoing permacrisis. However, EU and national decision-makers refrain from using its promising potential. Our new paper discusses why this is the case and what could be done to break through identified obstacles.
In light of a fundamentally changing geopolitical and geo-economic environment, including a potential enlargement to 30+ member states, more and more voices are calling for a reform of the European Union (EU). However, EU institutions and member states neither agree on the process nor the level of ambition when it comes to preparing the Union for the future.
Future enlargement is a historic opportunity for the EU to reform, and not only institutionally. It is also a chance to become a genuine Union of citizens by involving citizens differently, far earlier and more effectively. Our newly published policy brief discusses concrete steps to achieve that.
