The 140th plenary
session of the EU' assembly of
local regional representatives
was marked by the
first local and regional
Barometer
which includes an
opinion poll
conducted to more 26 000
citizens across the European
Union. The results of this poll
give a strong legitimacy to
local and regional leaders to
play a key role in
the EU decision-making process and
in particular in the upcoming
Conference on the Future of
Europe
. In his opinion
"Local and regional
authorities in the
permanent dialogue with
citizens"
, CoR rapporteur
Declan Mc Donnell (IE/EA),
proposes to develop a tool
called
CitizEN - Citizen
Engagement in the EU
Network
to involve citizens in
policy-making.
Starting from the assumption that
bottom-up communication channels
and participation instruments
complement and strengthen
representative democracy, as well
as promote active subsidiarity by
giving citizens a greater say on a
permanent basis beyond and between
elections, the opinion proposes the
setting-up of a pan-EU network
based on voluntary participation
called
CitizEN - Citizen ENgagement in
the EU Network
, with three objectives:
- to strengthen interaction between
European institutions and citizens,
through direct methods for
engagement at local and regional
level;
- to provide examples of
participation methods that can be
used both formally and informally;
- to act as a repository for
information and sharing of best
practice of national, regional and
local participation initiatives
from across the European Union.
The CitizEN Network could be
launched during the Conference,
with a view to becoming a stable
and permanent infrastructure able
to carry on with the follow-up on
the work of the Conference and
ensuring that citizens are kept
well informed and can be involved
in the monitoring, evaluation and
assessment phases.
Rapporteur-general Declan Mc
Donnell (IE/EA), Member of
Galway City Council, stated:
"The mechanism for a permanent
dialogue with citizens, which I
hope will be piloted during the
Conference on the Future of
Europe and start being fully
implemented soon after, will be
one of the key contributions of
the CoR, not only to the
Conference but also well
beyond. We really hope that by
enabling citizens to
continuously and systematically
express their views, and
receive feedback on them, will
help truly transform the EU and
make it more democratic, open,
transparent and inclusive. And,
very importantly, better
understood.
There already exists a myriad
of forms of citizens'
consultations across the EU
and, with our today's proposal,
we will aim to connect them and
institutionalise them at the EU
level".
The opinion suggests that the CoR
leads, in collaboration with all
other European institutions, on the
design, implementation and
governance of the Network, working
to promote a common working
methodology and the deployment of a
toolbox of participation
instruments (deliberation
processes, citizen initiatives,
participatory budgeting, government
crowdsourcing processes,
mini-publics, etc.) including a
shared digital platform that can be
used to manage best practice
examples which will be gathered
from different Member States.
Moreover, regional and local
organisations are encouraged to run
participatory processes during the
Conference at their respective
levels. The proposals and results
of the deliberative processes can
then be summarised and fed into the
CoR's contribution to the
Conference, as well as help build
the Network's repository of
knowledge and experience in
communicating with citizens.
Declan Mc Donnell added:
"
I believe that if we implement
the aspects outlined in this
opinion, we have the potential
to truly transform the EU and
its culture of governance. It
is only natural that this
proposal comes from the
European Committee of the
Regions, an institution which
represents the level of
government closest to and most
trusted by the citizens.
Citizens should be able to
speak to us when and where they
feel the need for it, and not
only when and where we tell
them: during elections cycles
or specific events. At the same
time, they need to get feedback
on their proposals and
concerns, which we as local and
regional authorities are
best-placed to provide."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
who
debated with CoR members
on 13 October on behalf of the
German Presidency of the EU
confirmed that the Conference on
the Future of Europe should be
launched during the German
Presidency. The Conference is
expected to give its
recommendations under the French
Presidency of the European Union on
the first half of 2022.
During the
EURegionsweek
Mr Mc Donnell will present the
CitizEN Network on 15 October at
16:30 during the online debate on
“innovating citizens’
participation”
.
Background information:
On 30th April 2019, ahead of the
meeting of EU27 leaders in Sibiu on
9th May, the European Commission
published the Communication "
Europe in May 2019: Preparing
for a more united, stronger and
more democratic Union in an
increasingly uncertain world.
The European Commission's
contribution to the informal
EU27 leaders' meeting in Sibiu
(Romania) on 9 May 2019
". Part of the communication was
dedicated to "
A permanent dialogue with
citizens
", stating that "
engaging with citizens on a
constant basis is essential to
strengthen European identity
and democracy and ensure
greater ownership of the
European project
".
Already back in October 2018, This
idea of a permanent dialogue
with citizens
was one of the key messages of the
CoR Opinion
Reflecting on Europe:
the voice of local and
regional authorities to
rebuild trust in the
European Union
(co- rapporteurs Karl-Heinz
Lambertz and Markku Markkula). In
December 2018 the Presidents of the
European Committee of the Regions
and the European Economic and
Social Committee issued a
Joint Proposal
of CoR and EESC Presidents on a
EU permanent mechanism for
structured consultations and
dialogues with citizens
.
The opinion poll which is part of
the CoR annual Barometer for cities
and regions was conducted by
Kantar, the world’s leading data,
insights and consulting company.
26,381 people were polled between
3-17 September in all EU state. The
survey was conducted online except
in Malta (telephone). This is
essentially a survey of Europeans
of working age: The targets were
usually aged 16-64 (16-54 in 10
countries; there was no upper limit
in Malta). See the results here
(link to Barometer webpage).
First key finding of this poll
is that regional and local
authorities are the level of
government most trusted by
citizens in their current and
future efforts to overcome the
economic and social impact of
the coronavirus crisis. Second
key finding is that 58% of the
respondents
think that giving local and
regional governments more influence
in the decision making process in
the European Union would have a
positive impact on the European
Union's ability to solve problems .
Contact:
Marie-Pierre Jouglain
mariepierre.jouglain@cor.europa.eu
Tel +32 (0) 473 52 41 15