Conference Talk. Bertelsmann Policy Brief 04.2019

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a two-year Conference on the Future of Europe. Even citizens ought to participate. But how? In order to make participatory democracy a reality, it is essential to avoid only paying lip-service to the idea of participation — and give citizens a real say

The Reform of the European Citizens’ Initiative: Not for the Youth? Bertelsmann Policy Brief 05.2018

Brussels wants to improve the European citizens’ initiative. The Parliament, Commission and Council agree on many – but not all – points. Of all issues, lowering the age required to participate from 18 to 16 is opposed by some EU member states

European Citizens’ Panel on the future of Europe Bertelsmann Stiftung Evaluation Report

New forms of democratic participation are gaining ground rapidly. Many EU Member States have reacted to their citizens’ increasing demands for participation. There are more and more new ways to participate in political discussions and decision-making on both local and national level. By participating in the European Citizens’ Initiative, online consultations by the Commission, or European Citizens’ Dialogues, EU citizens can also take an active part in policymaking at the European level. A wide range of different citizens’ consultations began in EU Member States in spring 2018 on the instigation of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, with the support of the other European heads of state and government and the European Commission. With European Parliament elections coming up in May 2019, this has prompted a transnational discussion about the future of the EU. As part of this debate, the Citizens’ Panel on the future of Europe, which was organised by the Commission and took place from 4 – 6 May 2018 (5 May: Europe Day), brought together 100 citizens from all EU27 Member States to discuss the future of Europe. Kantar, a service provider in the field of market research, working together with different organisations in the field of participation, was assigned with the the organisation and facilitation of the process. For example, participants from all over Europe were selected at random in order to represent the diversity of Europe and its citizens. The Bertelsmann Stiftung acted as an academic partner and was responsible for evaluating the event. The aim of the Citizens’ Panel was to develop 12 questions for an online survey on the future of Europe – created by EU citizens for EU citizens. Open and closed questions were combined in such a way that citizens could complete the questionnaire quickly and easily. The online survey was launched in all EU languages on 6 May 2018. Initial results are scheduled for discussion by heads of state and government in December 2018. A definitive report will be submitted on 9 May 2019 during the EU27 Summit in Sibiu, Romania

A Revolution in Disguise: The European Citizens' Initiative

The European Citizens' Initiative is a feature of the Treaty of Lisbon that many people have as yet to discover. However, even though it has often been criticized as being a kind of bogus participation that is no more than a placebo, it may well change the European Union, for it contains the seeds of a European public sphere and European parties. In this respect the initiative has already been a success

Citizens’ Consultations on Europe: French Citizens’ Panel October 25 to 27, 2018, Paris Review report

The following document analyses the French Citizens’ Panel, held in the context of Citizens’ Consultations on Europe. The report first presents the project, by stressing the method used to select the participants, then it takes into account the feedback of the participants as part of the evaluation and finally it gives some guidelines to think about the lessons to be learnt from this first French Citizens’ Panel

More Initiative for Europe’s Citizens. Bertelsmann Policy Brief 02.2018

The European citizens’ initiative is being reformed – and that’s a good thing. To date, the media have hardly reported on this young participation instrument. But if the citizens’ initiative is to have any impact in Brussels, it needs more public awareness

More Initiative for Europes Citizens

The European citizens' initiative (ECI) is faring like a lot of up-and-coming talents. It has great potential, but it cannot take full advantage of it yet. This sentiment is often expressed, and there are several reasons for the situation. In the Treaty of Lisbon, it was stipulated that 1 million European citizens can place an issue on the agenda in Brussels. Whoever collects this many signatures can call on the European Commission to take action. But six years after the introduction of the ECI, it can hardly be called a success story. Registering an initiative is too difficult, collecting signatures too demanding.

spotlight europe 2008/13, Dezember 2008: Nizza, Lissabon, Dublin – und zurück? = Nice, Lisbon, Dublin: and back?

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Digital Democracy: What Europe can learn from Taiwan. Bertelsmann Stiftung September 2020.

On September 7 2020, Audrey Tang, Digital Minister of Taiwan, joined an online conversation hosted by Open Society Foundations, King Baudouin Foundation, European Movement International and Bertelsmann Stiftung. She discussed the digital innovations Taiwan had implemented in the recent past to strengthen both its democracy at large and its response to the Covid-19 crisis. Audrey Tang is not your usual minister and Taiwan is not your usual democracy. Through approaching her job with the mindset of a coder and a prodigy that thinks outside of the box, Audrey Tang helped to make Taiwan’s democracy both extremely open and extremely digital. The success of innovations such as presidential hackathons and large amounts of citizens that participate through various digital means in policy making have proven her right. In the following we want to present some of the innovations that make Audrey Tang and Taiwan’s approach so exceptional and show what Europe can learn from them

Europäische Bürgerinitiative Neuerung mit Sprengkraft

Die Europäische Bürgerinitiative ist ein von vielen bisher kaum bemerktes Element des Vertrags von Lissabon. Doch diese vielfach als Placebo kritisierte Form der Scheinmitwirkung könnte die Europäische Union rasch verändern. In ihr liegt der Keim für eine europäische Öffentlichkeit und europäische Parteien. Schon allein das ist ein Erfolg der Initiative.The European Citizens' Initiative is a feature of the Treaty of Lisbon that many people have as yet to discover. However, even though it has often been criticized as being a kind of bogus participation that is no more than a placebo, it may well change the European Union, for it contains the seeds of a European public sphere and European parties. In this respect the initiative has already been a success