Agora – a new way of participation for European citizens?

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Published Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 16:08
by Rambert (826 views and 2 comments)

On the 8th and 9th of November, the European Parliament organised an “Agora”, a big consultative event with and for civil society. About 400 representatives of different civil society organisations had been invited to Brussels by different committees of the European Parliament, in order to discuss the institutional novelties of the Reform Treaty and how the European Union could look like in the future. According to the main initiators, Gérard Onesta, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Jo Leinen, president of the Constitutional Affairs Committee, it was the first time the Parliament engaged in a consultation exercise with such a large audience. Divided in five different workshops, the participants discussed “Tasks”, “Rights”, “Tools”, “Borders” and “Horizons” of the EU and came up with conclusions for the closing plenary session.

The debates were quite interesting. Many were centred on the very purpose of the Agora: participatory democracy. Is a consultation mechanism like Agora useful? Is it the appropriate way to consult civil society? Many participants called for the Agora to be institutionalized, taking place once or twice a year, possibly with focus on a certain topic (a second Agora on climate change is already planned for 2008). But would this be of real added value or rather increase the proliferation of institutions? After all, the European Parliament is elected to represent the European citizens, and civil society’s voice is also expressed in another institution: the European Economic and Social Committee, where employers, trade unionists and NGOs are represented.

In several workshops, the idea of EU-wide consultative referenda was brought up. A majority was in favour of such an instrument if it was applied only to important subjects and mandated by the European Parliament. On the other hand, critical voices of referendums were heard as well. Are European citizens well enough informed to be consulted on EU issues? As these issues are affecting the whole EU territory, a referendum should always be held in all member states. In many countries, however, referenda are simply not foreseen in the constitution.

Tags: citizens, democracy, EU, transparency

Comments

1. Put EU-wide referenda in the PES manifesto! by Asynjen Join PES activists on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 16:33

Thanks for posting about the Agora, I've been very interested in it. The question of EU-wide referenda is a difficult one. As a socialist and democrat I think it is important to engage citizens directly in decision-making - but at the same time it is my impression that most citizens are not that well-informed about European politics (I know this is a bit of an elitist opinion!). But maybe the two things go hand in hand? If the people in Europe are ever to know more about the European Union and European politics they need to have more influence. If you know that your voice will be heard - aren't you then more likely to keep yourself informed? In my opinion the PES manifesto should mention EU-wide referenda. And lastly - well, democracy is also for the ignorant, isn't it? :-)

2. Bien sûr qu'il faut un referendum européen sur les sujets européens ! by chourka Join PES activists on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 17:10

On doit partager certaines réserves à propos de la démocratie directe car elle peut, parfois, mener à des dérives plébiscitaires. Pour autant, une ratification référendaire pan-européenne de certains documents européens fondamentaux (on pense notamment à des textes de portée constitutionnelle) serait assurément une clé pour assoir définitivement l'intégration politique. Dès lors, que l'ensemble des citoyens de l'Union sont questionnés selon le même procédé électoral sur un même sujet dans une même concordance de temps (le même jour ou la même semaine), on peut dire que l'union politique est réalisée. En tant que socialiste, en tant que partisan d'une intégration politique toujours plus poussée de l'Union, on ne peut qu'applaudir des deux mains à une telle proposition. Par ailleurs, cette idée aurait l'indéniable mérite de mettre enfin les partis politiques composant les partis européens devant leur responsabilité : les obliger à conduire une seule et même campagne !

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