Problems and Purpose

The Citizens’ Assembly to Renew Engagement (CARE) for the Future of Europe was a collaboration between academic and civil society partners that sought to explore the use of democratic innovation "to reduce the distance felt by EU citizens from EU institutions, to challenge the rise of populism, and to strengthen EU citizen participation in EU policy making." In response, across individual in-person and online deliberations, CARE for the Future of Europe’s participants considered the question: how can we increase effective citizen engagement in debates about the future of Europe, and influence EU policy? [1] 

CARE for the Future of Europe’s specific objectives were 1) to challenge the disaffection with traditional democratic politics, and strengthen EU citizenship at this critical moment in EU history; 2) to develop and evaluate an online/offline Citizens' Assembly model suitable for the EU as a means to foster participation in and greater understanding of EU debates and policy making; 3) to make citizen recommendations to help develop a more democratic, participatory EU in the future; 4) to engage with a diverse, representative group of citizens including those currently less engaged with the EU. [2]

Background History and Context

Throughout the 2010s, the European Union grappled with various democratic deficits—for example, waning citizen participation in policymaking, increasing feelings of distance between EU citizens and institutions, and mounting populist sentiments. CARE for the Future of Europe was jointly run by the University of Liverpool, WeMove.eu, and other NGOs across the EU to address this problem; the initiative was first proposed after a the University of Liverpool held an event in 2016 titled, “Democratic Participation in a Citizen’s Europe: What’s next for the EU?” [3]

In total, 123 people took part in the in-person deliberations and around 5000 participated in the online deliberations. Regarding the in-person deliberations, across 2 weekends, participants met in Berlin, Rome, Cluj and Budapest to deliberate on five options of bolstering citizen participation in EU governance: legislative crowdsourcing, citizens' assemblies, referendums, enhanced consultations, and citizen lobbying. At the conclusion of the Citizens’ Assembly, participants formed various recommendations on EU citizen participation and voted to recommend the establishment of an EU Citizens’ Assembly. [4]

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

The University of Liverpool (CARE for the Future of Europe’s project and research lead) organized CARE for the Future of Europe alongside its partners: WeMove, a pan-European, online campaigning organization; European Alternatives in Italy; Asociatia Efectul Fluture (and the de-clic initiative) in Romania; and DemNet in Hungary. An Advisory Board, composed of academic institutions and civil society organizations engaged in democracy promotion, supported the work of CARE for the Future of Europe’s organizers. [5]

CARE for the Future of Europe was funded by Europe for Citizens, an EU funding program that “support[s] initiatives to strengthen remembrance of [...] recent European history and to enhance civic participation at EU level.” [6]

Participant Recruitment and Selection

CARE for the Future of Europe’s partners managed country-level participant recruitment. Overarchingly, however, CARE for the Future of Europe aimed to make each mini-public demographically representative and ideologically diverse. In total, the participant recruitment and selection process took 6 weeks. 

Step 1 of CARE for the Future of Europe’s recruitment process involved an open call for expressions of interest across mailing lists, news articles, polling apps, and social media. Step 2 provided further details to interested participants and invited them to apply for the Assembly. Step 3 involved using stratified selection (based on age, gender, and education) to choose 25-30 participants to attend each individual mini-public; over-recruitment and additional recruitment during the deliberations were practiced to account for non-attendance. Participants were not compensated for their time and could also not be selected to ensure ethnic representation due to legal restrictions in some EU Member States. [7]

Methods and Tools Used

• Citizens' Assembly — A body of citizens who come together to deliberate on a given issue and provide a set of recommendations, options, or a collective decision to the convening body.
• Online Consultations — An exchange between government and citizens using the Internet. Online consultations ask a group of people their opinion on one or more specific topics, allowing for trade-offs between participants.

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

Informational, deliberative, and voting sessions at CARE for the Future of Europe’s in-person deliberations centered around the question: how can we increase effective citizen engagement in debates about the future of Europe, and influence EU policy? On the first day of the event, expert presentations on 5 methods to increase citizen engagement—referendums, citizens’ assemblies, enhanced consultations, legislative crowdsourcing, and citizen lobbying—took place. Citizens then conversed in groups of 8–10 about each option; one facilitator moderated each group discussion.

On the second day of the event, citizens probed two of the five engagement options further: citizens’ assemblies and referendums. Specifically, participants were given more detailed information about both concepts and participated in Q&A sessions with various experts on participatory democracy. At the conclusion of the event, participants voted to recommend the establishment of an EU Citizens’ Assembly. However, several participants noted that the two initiatives were not mutually exclusive, and that holding both an EU Citizens’ Assembly and EU-wide referendum on EU-specific issues could be valuable. [8]

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

At the conclusion of the event, participants voted to recommend the establishment of an EU Citizens’ Assembly. However, no further information could be found regarding CARE for the Future of Europe’s impact and influence. 

Analysis and Lessons Learned

CARE for the Future of Europe’s conference organizers noted that this project demonstrated that “there is a real appetite for ‘doing politics differently’, and that citizens want to participate in the complex questions facing Europe in a balanced and constructive way.” Furthermore, the project organizers characterize citizens’ assemblies—particularly in the EU—as effective methods of “providing spaces for flexible, representative, inter-societal engagement in EU policy-making and treaty conventions.” [9]

See Also 

References

[1] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “Resources.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en/resource.

[2] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “What we want to achieve.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en.

[3] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “Resources.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en/resource.

[4] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “Evaluation.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en/blog/report/info_template_en%20FINAL.pdf.

[5] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “Team and advisers.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en.

[6] European Commission. “Europe for Citizens (EFC).” European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/justice-and-consumers/justice-and-consumers-funding-tenders/funding-programmes/previous-programmes-2014-2020/europe-citizens-efc_en

[7] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “What we want to achieve.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en.

[8] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “Resources.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en/resource.

[9] Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. “Resources.” Citizens’ Assembly for Europe. https://www.citizensassemblies.eu/en/resource.

External Links

Project website: https://www.citizensassemblies.eu

Notes

Lead image: Cutuzebs Assembly for Europe, https://goo.gl/gcdxeB