Cities and regions: Championing democratic resilience and citizens' participation

​How to improve the cooperation between institutional actors at all levels to increase citizens participation in the European project was the key topic discussed by regional and local leaders with representatives of the European Parliament and the European Commission in a conference on the future of participatory democracy, organised by the European Committee of the Regions on 15 December.

Local and regional leaders put forward their proposals to effectively engage citizens, adequately represent them and to develop tailored solutions that reflect the diversity of Europe. Ahead of the European elections in 2024, it is essential to put the citizens at the very heart of decision-making. Local and regional leaders highlighted that initiatives taken by their municipalities and the CoR will be inspired by the legacy of the Conference on the Future of Europe, as relevant Conference proposals will be discussed at local events to engage citizens on European issues and motivate them to vote. The conference was opened with video messages of the President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Dubravka Šuica.  

Democracy in action 

Participatory democracy seeks to create a more engaged and informed citizens, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment within the political system. Local and regional leaders stressed that while participatory democracy can enhance civic engagement and accountability, it also comes with challenges, such as ensuring inclusivity, managing diverse opinions, and striking a balance between direct citizen involvement and the need for expertise in decision-making. 

Participants highlighted that the Conference on the Future of Europe was an important milestone in this regard and the recommendations adopted by the Conference showed the added value of a more structured citizens' participation in our democratic debate. However, they stressed that the Conference needs to be followed through with implementation to show citizens that the proposals that emerged are being taken into account in the EU's future policies to avoid the risk that the lack of follow-up and attention to its proposals will undermine civil society's trust in the European project. 

Harnessing regional potential 

Local and regional authorities can be supported through participatory democracy when developing and implementing policies. More and more often, it is becoming essential for politicians to include citizens' voices in the policymaking process. Sub-national authorities, such as regional governments, municipalities and local councils, play an essential role in representing local interests and implementing policies tailored to a region's specific needs. Local and regional leaders therefore underlined in the second session that in order to harness this potential, an inclusive, participatory approach focused on local development is needed. Cities and regions play a crucial role in organising deliberative and participatory events, which would benefit from EU support and funding. The outcome of those events should be channelled in the EU policymaking, developing links and synergies between the different levels – European, national, regional and local. 

The impact of technology on the future of democracy 

Political democracy is being modernised thanks to digital technologies, notably the development of electronic voting. The notion of e-government is emerging, with experiments in participatory democracy and collective intelligence. Especially Artificial Intelligence will become a more and more used technology to connect citizens with campaigns, voting or participatory events and as a support to efficiently explain democratic processes. However, digital uses are also proving to be opponents rather than contributors to our democracies in some cases, as technologies are flexible and vulnerable to any number of uses.

Participants stressed that a secure and reliable technology is crucial to enhance digital voting and citizen's participation through online tools. Providing technologies in all EU languages rather than just English is another important factor. 

Quotes: 

Alin-Adrian Nica (RO/EPP), First Vice-Chair of the CIVEX commission and President of Timiş County Council, said: "Local and regional elected politicians are fully committed to making democracy stronger and bringing the EU closer to the citizens. Participatory tools encourage citizens to be active in democracy not only when they vote, but also beyond by keeping civic engagement alive. We must promote the engagement and effective participation of citizens and civil society organisations in policymaking." 

Domènec Ruiz Devesa, Member of the European Parliament and co-rapporteur on the European Elections 2024, said: "The regions and municipalities of the European Union are the political bodies closest to the citizens, and are a key dimension for strengthening the European democracy and the EU citizenship. Proximity to citizens is now more important than ever as we approach the European Parliament elections of June 2024 after a legislature marked by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the implementation of innovative new EU policies (such as the Health Union, the Recovery Plan or the Energy Union, among other). In these next elections, we must strengthen the European dimension of the political debate engaging with local councillors committed to transmit the European policies and messages to increase the turnout and the participation." 

More information: 

In the framework of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Walloon Region will join forces to organise the 10th European Summit of Regions and Cities in Mons, the European Capital of Culture 2015, on 18-19 March 2024. Elected representatives of regional and local authorities from across Europe discuss global challenges and jointly define a vision for Europe's future. The high-level event involves, alongside local and regional actors, national leaders and top representatives of the other European institutions. Register here. 

The CoR has, since 2016, been at the forefront of promoting participatory and deliberative democracy in regions and cities – with its members organized nearly 300 events, engaging hundreds of local and regional authorities, and reaching tens of thousands of participants. 

In the joint project "From local to European", the European Committee of the Regions and Bertelsmann Stiftung – together with 23 cooperation projects from 67 European cities and regions – conducted Citizens' Dialogues with around 200 politicians. Among these politicians were 14 members of the CoR. Two thousand European citizens contributed to the Conference on the Future of Europe with more than 400 concrete proposals on the future of Europe. The final report on this series of citizens' consultations can be found here.

On 12 December, the European Commission has published the Defence of Democracy Package which will enhance transparency and democratic accountability of interest representation activities on behalf of third countries which are aimed at influencing policies, decision making and the democratic space. It also includes two recommendations which aim to promote free, fair and resilient elections and the participation of citizens and civil society organisations to policymaking.