Citizen Power Europe
Alberto Alemanno and Kalypso Nicolaidis, Citizen Power Europe, in A. Alemanno and P. Sellal, The Groundwork of European Power, RED (Revue Européenne du Droit), Issue 3, January 2022, published by Groupe d’études géopolitiques.
20 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2022 Last revised: 25 Jan 2022
Date Written: January 4, 2022
Abstract
This article argues that if the EU is to recover its dented popularity among European publics, we need to build a European democratic ecosystem to nurture, scale and ultimate accommodate the daily competing claims of Europe’s citizens. To attain this objective, it presents and discusses three big ideas that are at the heart of the renewed EU ecosystem that we are calling for. These are: participation beyond voting; a transnational and inclusive public space; and, a democratic panopticon for greater accountability. Promisingly enough, these ideas already find reflection in the first batch of the citizens’ recommendations emerging from the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). Even if these recommendations still need to be refined through deliberation by the plenary of the CoFoE, they add up a clear and urgent message: let’s tap into our collective intelligence and democratic imagination to construct a pan-European public sphere by enhancing mutual connections, knowledge and empowerment between citizens across borders.
Keywords: Democracy, Deliberative democracy, Open government, Transparency, Participation, Civic empowerment, Legitimacy, Accountability, Civil society, European Union, mini-public,
JEL Classification: K19, K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation