Abstract
In 2018 the European Citizens’ Consultations took place throughout Europe. These events were organised by national governments and local actors, and thus represented a significantly increased role for the member states in communicating about Europe, a task which had previously been carried out chiefly by EU bodies. Thus, the Citizens’ Consultations hold great potential for the application of the principle of subsidiarity to citizens’ engagement and inclusion in decision-making. However, for the consultations to be successful, political leaders need to ensure that the results are reflected in the European Parliament election campaign and the agenda of the new leadership, demonstrating that citizens’ voices are being heard in Brussels. This article will give background information about the European Citizens’ Consultations, evaluate their potential and provide recommendations on how policymakers can ensure this new tool is used effectively.
Highlights
In his speech at the Sorbonne on 26 September 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed ‘citizens’ conventions’ to identify the public’s ‘priorities, concerns and ideas’ for the future of the EU (Macron 2017)
Citizens’ Dialogues and institutional consultation mechanisms, repackaging them as a democratic innovation, with the idea that citizens could have a direct impact on EU decision-making via the European Council
What set the European Citizens’ Consultations’ (ECCs) apart from pre-existing formats such as the Citizens’ Dialogues was their national- or local-level ownership. This meant that they had the crucial advantage of being perceived not as ‘a Commission exercise’ but rather as an EU-wide initiative driven by national governments and civil society actors. They represent the application of the principle of subsidiarity to the debate about democracy and the EU’s future, and serve to bring the member states and local politics into the discussion
Summary
In his speech at the Sorbonne on 26 September 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed ‘citizens’ conventions’ to identify the public’s ‘priorities, concerns and ideas’ for the future of the EU (Macron 2017). What set the ECCs apart from pre-existing formats such as the Citizens’ Dialogues was their national- or local-level ownership This meant that they had the crucial advantage of being perceived not as ‘a Commission exercise’ but rather as an EU-wide initiative driven by national governments and civil society actors. Citizens were not always sure which institutions they were addressing at a given event: in some member states the Citizens’ Dialogues were included in the branding of the ECCs, while in others the two were kept strictly separate This ambiguity likely detracted from the ECCs’ potential to demonstrate to citizens that their local authorities are an appropriate channel for raising concerns about European issues. The article goes on to make recommendations about what policymakers should do, both in the EP election campaigns and afterwards, to show that the ECCs were more than merely a communication exercise and to reassure citizens that they have a voice in EU affairs
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