Europeans should have more say when it comes to spending the EU budget, as a way to boost citizens' participation in EU policymaking, a panel of experts on democratic processes said during a Euractiv event on Thursday (22 February).
Read this article in Romanian. Young people’s voices should have a permanent role when considering legislation, the President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) Oliver Röpke told Euractiv in an interview, adding that youth participation should …
The implementation of the pandemic recovery funds remains mostly a top-down process, managed centrally and with limited attention to on-the-ground needs, according to local and regional authorities, who are calling out centralising tendencies in the management of EU funds.
The European Parliament called on the EU to give European citizens a stronger voice and more instruments to influence the Union’s decision-making, as well as institutionalise participatory and deliberative processes.
NGOs warned of “opacities” in the way the pandemic recovery funds have been designed and spent across a number of European countries, which have often locked citizens out from decisions affecting them.
Experts and lawmakers are making a case for a co-decision process allowing European citizens to have a voice in deciding how the EU budget is allocated, which could strengthen citizen participation and drive sustainable economic growth models across member states.
Read this article in Romanian. Youth activists are pushing for better recognition of youth's voices and needs in European policy-making while also making sure young people feel safe to participate, a key concern as next year's European elections …
European cities and their residents are increasingly using collaborative tools which allow inhabitants to participate in the design and management of city assets, a practice which, according to experts, can create more democratic societies and markets.
Ten European cities took part in a pioneering experiment to gather citizens’ ideas on how to address air pollution and present possible solutions to policy-makers, through a crowdsourcing process that experts believe could become part of the EU participatory toolbox.
EU citizens' panels introduced after the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) mean deliberative democracy experiments will continue at the EU level, but they need to better adapt to citizens’ expectations and become more inclusive, experts say.
Since 2019, the German-speaking community in Belgium has carried out a deliberative experiment involving citizens in decision-making processes, a model that, according to the former head of the region’s parliament, could be adapted to other government levels.
In a surprising vote 15 years ago, the small Swiss canton of Glarus lowered the voting age to 16. Since then, it has remained the only Swiss region to implement this, which might be related to the archaic voting system in the canton that regularly produces surprising results.
Read this article in Romanian. As deliberative and participatory exercises are gaining traction at local, national and EU levels, some politicians and youth activists are making the case for children and teenagers to also be given a voice …
Participatory exercises involving young Europeans can help them better understand democratic processes, but there are palpable worries that the intergenerational divide and the lack of real follow-up can limit their impact, according to young people who took part in such events.
Young people are statistically underrepresented in both national and EU parliaments, EU data shows. This, in combination with the ageing population of European countries, leaves young people 'de facto' at the margin of politics,
The EU is stepping up its efforts to promote civic engagement and political participation with a new initiative targeting young people in third countries through its Youth Action Plan.
While co-decision mechanisms in Ukrainian municipalities have been suspended due to the war, participatory tools could still help support and integrate Ukrainian displaced people, according to experts.
Letting young people decide how to spend a part of the city budget can empower the youth, boost participation and be a “lesson of civic education,” according to experts.
Active participation of Romani people and Roma mediators in local policy-making and budgetary decisions is key to addressing the community needs of the largest European ethnic minority, according to activists.
Despite the progress achieved at the EU level on gender equality, policies and budgetary decisions have yet to fully include a gender perspective, according to experts and MEPs.
Read this article in Romanian. Co-decision on the city budget expenditure by displaced people can help local authorities better understand their needs. However, these communities often face language and financial obstacles that hinder their participation, according to experts. “If …
Experts and activists in the EU called for more diverse participation of citizens in co-decision tools, pointing to the key role of information campaigns in raising awareness and boosting citizens’ competences.
A new report by the Albanian Insitute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) says the electorate wants more democratic progress in the EU candidate country, considered a hybrid, or only partly democratic, regime according to Freedom House.
MEPs and experts propose to scale up a city-level tool allowing citizens to decide how to spend a part of the municipal resources and let Europeans shape the EU budget expenditure.
