This endeavour comes at a time when the call for a more engaged and inclusive democracy in Europe has never been stronger.
The EU has witnessed a surge in experimentation with citizens' assemblies at national, regional, and municipal levels, addressing issues ranging from participatory budgeting to sustainable urban development. In the past five years alone, Europe has seen the emergence of ten national assemblies and approximately 70 local assemblies dedicated to tackling the pressing challenges of climate change. Furthermore, the EU itself took a significant step forward with the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), introducing transnational, multi-lingual, sortition-based deliberation into its policymaking process.
In pursuit of its visionary goals, the STG team will build upon the valuable lessons gleaned from CoFoE and other transnational citizens' assemblies. Their objective is to develop a prototype or "proxy" for an EU-wide European Citizens’ Assembly, a living testament to how deliberation can be integrated into every facet of the EU’s policy processes. The inaugural assembly is scheduled to set sail in Athens in September 2024, following the next European Parliament elections and the commencement of the new European Commission's work.
The STG team is not only focused on the assembly itself but is also exploring ways to embed citizen participation and deliberation within the intricate ecosystem of representative democracy in the EU. This includes examining direct democracy experiments like the European Citizens’ Initiatives.
Professor Kalypso Nicolaidis, leading the academic work on transnational democracy at the EUI, and James Mackay, the project coordinator, share a vision of radical transformation. Professor Nicolaidis states, "Our vision is that of an interconnected assembly, within the ever-growing network of participatory and deliberative spaces around the continent, in towns and cities, in schools, workplaces, theaters, in political and corporate seats of power." This assembly will be comprised of ordinary citizens selected by lot, serving for defined periods, representing the diverse voices of Europe.
Over recent months, the STG team has embarked on an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional journey to address pressing design questions. Their goal is to draw from numerous case studies at local, national, and regional levels, ensuring that their "proof of concept" evolves in a democratically credible manner.
In April 2023, the STG team formalised a core consortium to implement the practical aspects of the project:
Particip’Action will oversee budgeting, selection, and facilitation.
Democracy Next, a non-profit institute, will contribute to advocacy.
European Alternatives will build bridges with grassroots networks, introduce experimental assembly formats, and ensure diverse participation.
The Democracy and Culture Foundation will bring expertise in arts and technology, as well as help integrate the process into Athens, where a public campaign and broader collaboration efforts will be launched.
This endeavour signifies more than the testing of an assembly model; it represents a transformative journey towards a more inclusive, deliberative, and interconnected European democracy. As Professor Nicolaidis aptly puts it, "The European University Institute and its School of Transnational Governance is the perfect hub to launch this project, but we will remain one player in an ever-expanding flotilla of explorer ships on the sea of democratic renewal; ships big and small, crews of all types, sails of all shapes and colours, all embarking on a transnational democratic Odyssey." The voyage has begun, and the horizon is brighter than ever.