1. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE, 26 FEBRUARY 2010

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
European Citizens’ Panel – New Democratic Toolbox for New Institutions
Friday, 26 February 2010
European Economic and Social Committee, Room 62
Rue Beliard 99, 1040 Brussels

We would like to invite you to participate at the European Conference in the scope of the project entitled: "European Citizens’ Panel: New democratic toolbox for new institutions". The overreaching objective of this innovative project is to try to answer two fundamental questions: How should the citizens engage in European participatory processes and how do the citizens expect their recommendations to be followed up? This is the first time, as far as we know, that citizens have been asked to debate these questions in a structured way.

Over 200 citizens discussed these and other questions in four European countries in November 2009: Hungary, Latvia, Bulgaria and Germany. They jointly came up with very interesting and innovative recommendations which will be presented during the conference in form of a European report. The active involvement of experts and practitioners active in participatory democracy initiatives will also be assured during the conference. Moreover, a select group of EU experts will gather the day before the conference to discuss the citizens’ conclusions and share their experiences form other projects and initiatives, such as the European Citizens’ Panels and other experimental projects which were implemented under the Plan D for Democracy under DG Communications. The third category we would like to involve in this debate is of course the decision and policy makers, the representatives of the EU institutions.

Representatives from Directorates General dealing with citizen participation, MEPs and other important official bodies, as well as experts, CSOs and active citizens from Germany, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium and other member countries will participate in this event. European conference aims to bring together abovementioned groups of participants in a facilitated dialogue with one another about the role and potential of citizen participation in European decision-making.

The conference will also be the first major event on participatory democracy and citizens’ involvement in decision making on the EU level after the restructuring of the European Commission and the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Furthermore, it will also continue the process of evaluation of European citizens’ consultations started on the 27 November 2009 by the European Commission and bring some clear recommendations from citizens for future projects and initiatives. For all those reasons, the trialogue between experts, citizens and EU officials is necessary and can help shape the “democratic toolbox” of the new European institutions.

Conference Agenda (download here ) 

To participate in the event you need to fill in the registration form and send it to the e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it before Friday, 15 February 2010. Be aware that due to limited number of places available only selected candidates will be able to attend. 

Please note, that registration is already closed. Only representatives of Mass Media can still send the registeration forms by 16.00 p.m. Wednesday, 24 February 2010.