The EU called, citizens answered
If the EU knocked on your door and invited you to decide on the next EU budget, would you go? That's what 150 people selected at random across the 27 member states agreed to do this year.
Over the course of several sessions, participants agreed on different areas the next EU budget should tackle, before coming up with ideas on how the money should be used concretely. Their proposals were handed in to the budget commissioner on Sunday.
Participants can reflect on what matters for the whole of Europe. ”People have very different opinions, and have different priorities depending on the countries they're from”, an Irish panellist told me. ”People from Eastern European countries came in with defence as a priority, whereas for Ireland, it was more about migration and the environment.”
It might be your first time hearing of this, but citizens' panels are becoming a regular part of the European democratic process. The Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, made it a clear objective in May 2022; six have taken place since.
Now, participants are waiting to see what will happen next. “We'll have to see whether those proposals are put in place”, a French panellist said. If we go with what has happened previously, there are chances that several proposals will be integrated into Commission initiatives, but only a minority. The most 'successful' panel one so far has seen at least 10 of its 23 proposals inspire Commission initiatives.