11-07-2024
The European Policy Centre (EPC) recently published a discussion paper outlining eight structural innovations that the EU should undertake to adequately address increasingly challenging times Europe is facing.
The text contains a multitude of valuable insights. Authors Janis A. Emmanouilidis and Fabian Zuleeg make various suggestions including empowering the Commission to be more “executive”, enabling it to act in a more decisive manner. They also argue about the importance of better inter-institutional relations, which have undoubtedly strained EU policy making in the past (i.e. Sofagate).
In line with our mission, The Good Lobby is particularly interested in their suggestions relative to civil society and citizen participation in EU decision making. The 8th and final proposal made by the authors directly relates to this question.
Like many before, the paper argues for the importance of greater civil society participation in EU policy making. Yet this can only happen, according to the authors, if the EU institutions and Member States “accept and support the need to reform the Union’s operating system.”
Proposals for Novel Participatory Mechanisms
The paper goes on to suggest novel participatory mechanisms. First, the authors propose the creation of “big tent” fora, gathering EU citizens every five years to contribute to the drafting of EU Strategic Agenda – documents prepared by the European Council outlining the long-term priorities of the EU.
The idea would mimic other attempts at citizen forums, and would finally give an opportunity to civil society to influence the work of the European Council – which is potentially the most opaque institution in the EU. Despite its treaty bound obligation to “maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with representative associations and civil society”, (TEU Article 11), a quick look at European Council President Charles Michel’s agenda reveals that he held no meetings with civil society in 2024 – the same cannot be said about meetings with industry.
The authors also propose the creation of ad-hoc citizen panels to help implement long-term priorities into concrete EU law. They also recommend the creation of a European Citizens’ Reform Panel, which would accompany EU internal reform processes, involving citizens from current and potential future member states to generate public support and prevent reform efforts from being rejected. A European Forum on Enlargement is also suggested to better prepare the Union for expansion.
Challenges and the Need for Effective Participatory Mechanisms
The proposals suggested are certainly insightful and should be taken seriously. Having said that, attention should also be paid to existing – and dysfunctional – participation mechanisms such as the European Citizen Initiative (ECI). ECIs are tools through which 1 million citizens can ask the Commission to propose concrete legislation. Whilst theoretically a valuable and pioneering idea, ECIs have had little success since the mechanism was adopted over a decade ago. Indeed, only a handful of ECIs have successfully reached the 1 million threshold, and none have hitherto triggered a concrete legislative proposal by the Commission.
In response to the “End the Cage Age” ECI, the Commission promised in 2021 to propose a legislative act inspired by the campaigners demands – namely to end the practice of caged farming. However, in 2023, the Commission went back on its word, and failed to publish a proposal as promised.
Participatory mechanism for increased civic participation in EU decision making is essential. The proposals outlined by the EPC are valuable and should be followed up by the institutions. But the EU perhaps faces an even more immediate challenge in this space: the existence of dysfunctional participatory mechanisms that end up disenfranchising committed campaigners and disincentives robust citizen participation in the EU.