Participatory governance in the EU: what’s next?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the blog articles belong solely to the author of the content, and do not necessarily reflect the European Commission's perspectives on the issue.

Submitted by Angela PEREIRA on

Participatory governance in the EU: what’s next?

Ângela Guimarães Pereira, head of the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, explains why June 17th, 2022 was a significant day for citizen engagement in EU policymaking.

On June 17th, 2022 The European Commission published a Communication called "Conference on the Future of Europe - Putting vision into concrete action" (COM(2022) 404). It follows the end of the Conference on the Future of Europe, a unique experiment on deliberative democracy at EU scale. This Communication is not only significant for us at the European Commission, but also for anybody working on citizen participation and deliberation, and signals a very positive step for the future of democracy.

In the closing session of the COFE, on 9th of May, the President of the Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, announced that "the Commission will enable Citizens Panels to deliberate and make recommendations ahead of certain key proposals, as part of its wider policy making and in line with Better Regulation principles". This is now enshrined in the new Communication from the European Commission: “Building on this success, the Commission will enable Citizens Panels to deliberate and make recommendations ahead of certain key proposals, as part of its wider policy making”. Furthermore, the Communication announces that the digital means through which citizens can be engaged in policymaking will also be enhanced by providing a one-stop-shop, “bringing together all information on citizens’ engagement mechanisms running in the Commission.”

This is such great news for participatory governance, not only in the European Union, but also for the rest of the world. Allowing for more deliberative and co-creation approaches in policymaking brings policy closer to citizens, ensuring that citizens are owners of our shared future, while rejuvenating and protecting our democracies from threats such as the brutal war that Russia is perpetrating in Ukraine.

The Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy will continue to support the new ways in which citizens are engaged in EU policymaking.

About the Author
Ângela has been at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre since 1992. She leads the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, contributing to mainstream citizen engagement practices across the EU policy cycle and science. She has been involved in many European projects focusing on environmental and technology governance, future-oriented activities and public engagement institutionalisation. Post-normal science inspires her work on governance of and dialogues about policy, science and technology.