CASE
The European Citizens’ Consultation 2006
- General Issues
- Governance & Political Institutions
- Specific Topics
- Regional & Global Governance
- Scope of Influence
- Multinational
- Start Date
- End Date
- Ongoing
- No
- Time Limited or Repeated?
- A single, defined period of time
- Purpose/Goal
- Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
- Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations
- Approach
- Consultation
- Spectrum of Public Participation
- Consult
- Total Number of Participants
- 200
- Open to All or Limited to Some?
- Limited to Only Some Groups or Individuals
- Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
- random
- General Types of Methods
- Deliberative and dialogic process
- General Types of Tools/Techniques
- Facilitate dialogue, discussion, and/or deliberation
- Inform, educate and/or raise awareness
- Facilitate decision-making
- Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
- Deliberation
- Legality
- Yes
- Facilitators
- Yes
- Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
- Both
- Types of Interaction Among Participants
- Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation
- Express Opinions/Preferences Only
- Decision Methods
- Voting
- Communication of Insights & Outcomes
- Public Report
- Public Hearings/Meetings
- Primary Organizer/Manager
- European Commission
- Type of Organizer/Manager
- Regional Government
- National Government
- Evidence of Impact
- Yes
The European Citizens’ Consultation in 2006 was a participatory cross-border experiment intended to promote understanding of EU issues for the citizens of its member-states. Randomly-selected EU citizens were invited to deliberate on the future of the EU.
Problems and Purpose
Due to the democratic deficit at the EU level a citizen consultation was launched in 2006, offering citizens the possibility to better understand EU issues and to express a better informed opinion on them.
Background History and Context
In 2005 the European Commission launched its "Plan D" (democracy, dialog, debate). Plan D's impetus was largely a reaction on the voter rejection of the European Constitution. European Citizens' Consultation was an approach to build an EU-wide consensus on its future policies by encouraging national debates.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Events were held in all 27 member-states between Oct 2006 and May 2007. Citizens were chosen through a random sampling process to achieve demographic diversity. Debates were coordinated across national borders. At the UK event for example participants were divided in groups of eight. Suggestions were fed into a laptop and transferred to a main screen and voted on in plenary.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The impact on policy was limited. The project did, however, prove to be a pioneering model for cross-European dialogue and its success in this regard is demonstrated by the initiation of a second European Citizens' Consultation in 2009. [1]
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
The European Citizens’ Consultation 2009
References
[1] The European Citizens’ Consultation 2009. Participedia. Retrieved from https://participedia.net/case/4135
External Links
Official Website [DEAD LINK]
Videos: ECC Agenda Setting Event, ECC 2007 (Ireland), ECC 2009 (Brussels)