The European Citizens’ Consultations brought together over 1,800 citizens from 27 EU Member States to deliberate on the future of the European Union. This case describes its first phase, a 200-person Agenda-Setting event held in Brussels from October 7–8, 2006; the event was followed by national consultations from February–March 2007 and various follow-up events in 2007. [1]
Problems and Purpose
As a whole, the European Citizens’ Consultations brought together over 1,800 citizens from 27 EU Member States to deliberate on the future of the European Union. It was designed to address problems including the EU’s democratic deficit, as highlighted by former Prime Minister of Slovenia Alojz Peterle, as well as an over-reliance on “old-fashioned” methods of policy development noted by European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström. [2]
The European Citizens’ Consultations’ central organizers—the King Baudoin Foundation, the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS), the European Policy Centre (EPC), and the Network of European Foundations (NEF)—formally reiterated this need, declaring the European Citizens’ Consultations the “first-ever opportunity for members of the public from [...] 25 Member States to debate the future of the European Union across the boundaries of geography and language.” Specifically, their deliberations were aimed at “both European and national institutions and decision-makers as they prepare to take decisions on the next phase of Europe’s development.” [3]
The first phase of the European Citizens’ Consultations—the 200-person Agenda-Setting Event—specifically sought to answer the question, “What Europe do we want?” in order to set topics of discussion for future national consultations.
Background History and Context
In 2005, the European Commission launched its "Plan D" (democracy, dialog, debate), largely propelled by EU voters’ recent rejection of the European Constitution. The European Citizens' Consultations were intended to complement these efforts to increase citizen engagement by working toward an EU-wide consensus on its future policies through national and transnational debates. [4]
In October 2006, 200 randomly-selected EU citizens were invited to participate in the Agenda-Setting event of the European Citizens’ Consultations. In smaller group discussions led by facilitators and interpreters, participants shared their views on the role of the EU in their lives and on the EU’s future directions; afterward, participants decided on three policy priorities via electronic vote: 1) the environmental and economic impact of Europe's energy use; 2) The social and economic conditions for Europe's families; and 3) the EU's role in the world and the management of immigration. These topics later became the focus of 27 national consultations hosted between February and March 2007, which involved 30–200 participants each. [5]
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The European Citizens’ Consultations were organized by a coalition of independent organizations, led by the King Baudoin Foundation alongside the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS), the European Policy Centre (EPC), and the Network of European Foundations (NEF). The Consultations were also supported by Compagnia di San Paolo, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, and the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Regarding funding and implementation: the Citizens’ Consultations were funded by 21 organizations from participating member states, as well as grants from the European Commission’s Plan D Initiative. Additionally, Institut für Organisationskommunikation (IFOK) and OPTEM, an opinion research agency, assisted with the implementation and organization of the Consultations at the transnational and national levels. [6] [7]
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The 200 participants at the Agenda-Setting Event of the European Citizens’ Consultations were randomly-selected EU citizens, chosen by professional recruitment organizations to reflect the EU’s demographic distribution in terms of age, gender, and socioeconomic background. [8]
No further information could be found regarding participant recruitment and selection.
Methods and Tools Used
At the 200-person Agenda-Setting event held in Brussels from October 7–8, 2006, participants broke out into smaller discussions to share their experiences with the EU’s influence on their lives and discuss the EU’s future trajectory. Their conversations were moderated by facilitators and interpreters; at the conclusion of the Agenda-Setting event, participants decided on three topic priorities—Energy & Environment, Family & Social Welfare, and the EU’s Global Role & Immigration—via electronic vote for the 2007 National Consultations.
Leading up to the National Conventions, Citizens’ Juries were also convened to “assess which kind of information the participants of the national consultations require to lead a fruitful discussion.” [9]
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
At the Agenda-Setting event held in Brussels from October 7–8, 2006, participants broke out into smaller discussions to share their experiences with the EU and discuss the EU’s future trajectory. Their conversations were moderated by facilitators and interpreters; at the conclusion of the event, participants decided on three topic priorities—Energy & Environment, Family & Social Welfare, and the EU’s Global Role & Immigration—for the 2007 National Consultations.
Leading up to the National Consultations, Citizens’ Juries were also convened to determine the types and extent of information that national consultation participants would need to engage in meaningful deliberation. Finally, the 30-200 person national consultations were held in 27 EU Member States across 6 weekends from October 2006 and May 2007 (5–10 national consultations would take place at the same time). [10]
The reports from each National Consultation informed the results of a Final Consultation in May 2007, which produced a report—titled European Citizens’ Perspectives on the Future of Europe—that noted both “common ground and [...] areas of divergence between the national outcomes” as well as “a comprehensive follow-up process, which actively communicates the outcomes to policy-makers and provides feedback to citizens.” These results were presented to policymakers and stakeholders at a press conference held at the European Parliament. [11]
Additionally, several follow-up events were held throughout 2007, including a policy debate facilitated by the European Policy Center and local debates in Belgium and Slovenia. [12] [13] [14]
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The Agenda-Setting Event successfully topics of discussion for the European Citizens' Consultations’ national deliberations. As a whole, although the results of the deliberations were turned over to European and national politicians, the impact of the European Citizens' Consultations 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. Then-European Commission Vice President, Margot Wallström, noted that the process had been “valuable” in “confirm[ing] that we are moving in the right direction, but the citizens clearly want us to do more.” [15] [16]
Analysis and Lessons Learned
In a project summary, organizers of the European Citizens' Consultations noted that the event was a useful “model for dialogue across the boundaries of geography and language,” for it could serve as guide for future European deliberative projects that “create dialogue in a multilingual and decentralised setting, empower randomly chosen citizens to set the agenda and lead informed debates, [and] use innovative facilitation methods and modern technology to make every voice heard.” [17]
No further information could be found regarding analysis and lessons learned from the European Citizens' Consultations.
See Also
The European Citizens' Consultation (2007 Events)
The European Citizens’ Consultation 2009
References
[1] Goldschmidt, Rüdiger and Ortwin Renn. “European citizens' consultations project : final evaluation report.” ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309009597_European_citizens'_consultations_project_final_evaluation_report.
[2] European Policy Centre. “
The Europe we want: citizens’ perspectives on the future of Europe.” European Policy Centre. https://web.archive.org/web/20070706014027/http://www.epc.eu/en/er.asp?TYP=ER&LV=293&see=y&t=2&PG=ER%2FEN%2Fdetail&l=&AI=713.
[3] European Citizens’ Consultations. “Project Summary.” European Citizens’ Consultations. https://www.zsi.at/object/news/208/attach/1About_the_project_ECC_A.pdf.
[4] European Commission. “The Commission supports new civil society initiatives to promote Dialogue and Debate on EU issues.” European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_06_1327.
[5] Reed, Jessica. “Power to the people!” openDemocracy. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/19018/.
[6] European Citizens’ Consultations. “Project Summary.” European Citizens’ Consultations. https://www.zsi.at/object/news/208/attach/1About_the_project_ECC_A.pdf.
[7] European Policy Centre. “European Citizens' Consultations: Expert commentaries.” European Policy Centre. https://www.epc.eu/en/Publications/European-Citizens-Consultations-Expert-commentaries~1ba238.
[8] European Citizens’ Consultations. “Project Summary.” European Citizens’ Consultations. https://www.zsi.at/object/news/208/attach/1About_the_project_ECC_A.pdf.
[9] European Citizens’ Consultations. “Project Summary.” European Citizens’ Consultations. https://www.zsi.at/object/news/208/attach/1About_the_project_ECC_A.pdf.
[10] European Citizens’ Consultations. “Project Summary.” European Citizens’ Consultations. https://www.zsi.at/object/news/208/attach/1About_the_project_ECC_A.pdf.
[11] European Citizens’ Consultations. “Project Summary.” European Citizens’ Consultations. https://www.zsi.at/object/news/208/attach/1About_the_project_ECC_A.pdf.
[12] Europäische Bürgerkonferenzen. “Regionale Bürgerforen in Deutschland.” Europäische Bürgerkonferenzen. https://web.archive.org/web/20070703234402/http://www.europaeische-buergerkonferenzen.de/26.0.html.
[13] King Baudouin Foundation. “Organizing local debates for citizens in Belgium on the future of Europe.” King Baudouin Foundation. https://web.archive.org/web/20070928064330/http://www.kbs-frb.be/code/page.cfm?id_page=125&id=1178&lang=EN.
[14] European Policy Centre. “European Citizens' Consultations: Expert commentaries.” European Policy Centre. https://www.epc.eu/en/Publications/European-Citizens-Consultations-Expert-commentaries~1ba238.
[15] European Policy Centre. “European Citizens' Consultations: Expert commentaries.” European Policy Centre. https://www.epc.eu/en/Publications/European-Citizens-Consultations-Expert-commentaries~1ba238.
[16] Centre for Liberal Strategies. “European Citizens’ Consultations 2007.” Centre for Liberal Strategies. https://cls-sofia.org/tpost/0b0gko6lu1-european-citizens-consultations-2007.
[17] European Citizens’ Consultations. “Project Summary.” European Citizens’ Consultations. https://www.zsi.at/object/news/208/attach/1About_the_project_ECC_A.pdf.
External Links
Official Website [DEAD LINK]
Videos: ECC Agenda Setting Event, ECC 2007 (Ireland), ECC 2009 (Brussels)