Follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe
European Parliament

European democracy

36. Proposal: Citizens information, participation and youth

Objective: Increase citizens’ participation and youth involvement in the democracy at the European Union level to develop a ‘full civic experience’ for Europeans, ensure that their voice is heard also in between elections, and that the participation is effective. That is why the most appropriate form of participation should be considered for each topic, for example by:

  • 36.1) Improving the effectiveness of existing and developing new citizens' participation mechanisms, in line with EU acquis, by better informing on them. Ideally, all the information about the participatory spaces should be summarized in an integrated official website with different features. A mechanism should be devised to monitor policy and legislative initiatives, which have emerged from participatory democracy processes; Participatory mechanisms should be inclusive and their communication able to reach a diverse public. Attention should be paid to content material, topics and moderators' skills. They should include an analysis on the impact of the policies discussed on, inter alia, women and vulnerable persons.
  • 36.2) Increasing the frequency of online and offline interactions between EU institutions and its citizens through different means of interaction in order to ensure that citizens can participate in the EU policy-making process to voice their opinions and to get feedback, and creating a charter for EU officials on citizens' participation;
  • 36.3) Offering a user-friendly digital platform where citizens can share ideas, put forward questions to the representatives of EU institutions and express their views on important EU matters and legislative proposals, in particular youth. The platform should also allow for online polls;


    There are currently no implementing initiatives that address this particular CoFE measure.
  • 36.4) Improving and streamlining existing mechanisms at the European, national, and local level, to make them more secure, accessible, visible and inclusive;
  • 36.5) Include organised civil society and regional and local authorities and existing structures such as the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR)99 in the citizens' participation process;
  • 36.6) Create a system of local EU Councillors, as a way to reduce the distance between the EU institutions and European citizens;
  • 36.7) Holding Citizens' assemblies periodically, on the basis of legally binding EU law.Participants must be selected randomly, with representativeness criteria, and participation should be incentivized. If needed, there will be support of experts so that assembly members have enough information for deliberation. If the outcomes are not taken on board by the institutions, this should be duly justified; Participation and prior involvement of citizens and civil society is an important basis for political decisions to be taken by elected representatives. The EU is founded on representative democracy: with European elections, citizens give a clear mandate to their representatives and indirectly express themselves on EU policies;


    There are currently no implementing initiatives that address this particular CoFE measure.
  • 36.8) Provide enhanced structural support, financial and otherwise, for civil society, especially for youth civil society and support local authorities in setting up local youth councils; this could be achieved through a specific pillar in the European Democracy Action Plan for involvement of civil society and social partners, and a dedicated civil society strategy;
  • 36.9) Introduce a "Youth-check" of legislation, including both an impact assessment and a consultation mechanism with representatives of young people, when legislation is deemed to have an impact on young people;


    There are currently no implementing initiatives that address this particular CoFE measure.
  • 36.10) Strengthening cooperation between EU legislators and civil society organisations to utilise the link between decision-makers and citizens which civil society organisations constitute;


    There are currently no implementing initiatives that address this particular CoFE measure.
  • 36.11) Summarize elements of citizens' participation in an EU Charter for the involvement of citizens in EU-affairs.


    There are currently no implementing initiatives that address this particular CoFE measure.