EUROPEAN CITIZENS CONSULTATION 2009

9.44.26am GMT Mon 22nd Dec 2008

There is a new project called the European Citizens' Consultation (ECC) which aims to inject citizens' voices into the EU policy making process. The European Citizens' Consultation 2009 will bring together citizens from all 27 Member States to deliberate with each other and with policy makers the future of the EU. LDEG has been invited to input ideas into this process. On three weekends in March 2009, 1,500 randomly selected EU citizens will attend National Citizens' Consultations in their country. These conferences are the heart of the ECC process. Participants will deliberate the ideas put forward by the public in an online debate before drawing up national recommendations. They will then present and discuss their recommendations on what the EU should do to be socially just and economically strong to policy makers, stakeholders and experts. A European Summit, held in Brussels in May, will ensure that a truly European set of recommendations is presented to key EU decision makers. At each stage of the discussion, members of the general public will be able to make their voice heard via national websites, enabling an unprecedented number of additional views to be contributed to the debate on the future of Europe. The citizens' recommendations will also be discussed with many more stakeholders at regional outreach events to be held between September and December 2009.

The UK's national website - www.ecc09.org.uk - will host debate between citizens, policy makers and NGOs. The main debate is: "What should Europe do to shape our social and economic future in a globalised world." Your answer to this question will be posted on the national website together with those contributed by the UK public and participant citizens. We would also encourage you to use this as an opportunity to promote any work you do which you feel is relevant to the debate. Please register with the website to enter the discussion. As the only citizen participation project to be funded by the European Commission in the crucial election year of 2009, the European Citizens' Consultation 2009 promises to receive substantial coverage and impact.

www.european-citizens-consultation.org.uk

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The six objectives are:

1. Promoting interaction between citizens and policy makers: fostering debate between citizens and policy-makers in the run-up to - and after - the European elections;

2. Citizens as policy advisers: feeding citizens' opinions into the political debate at both European and national levels;

3. Citizen participation as a policy instrument for the future: mainstreaming trend-setting and long term oriented citizen consultations at the European level;

4. Closing the gap between the EU and its citizens: bringing the EU closer to citizens and citizens closer to the EU;

5. Increasing the public's interest in the EU: generating substantial media coverage of the dialogue between the EU and its citizens;

6. Partnerships and participation: deepening European co-operation within existing civil society networks and their respective partner networks, as well as e-participation providers

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