European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT), 2024.

A study commissioned by the European Commission highlights the significant potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve public sector services across the EU. The report emphasizes that AI can enhance citizen-government interactions, boost analytical capabilities, and increase efficiency in key areas such as healthcare, mobility, e-Government, and education. These sectors are identified as among the most ready for large-scale AI deployment, with applications ranging from autonomous vehicles and smart traffic systems to AI-driven healthcare solutions and education technologies.

European University Institute, Glušac, L., European University Institute, 2024.

This policy brief discusses citizens' assemblies (CA) as a way of deepening and improving public engagement in political decision-making at the EU level. While commending the EU for using citizens' assemblies in an unparalleled way during the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), it demonstrates that the first CAs held on the EU level after CoFoE indicate that the EU institutions are still keen to keep strong control over the process and results of citizens' assemblies. The brief argues the EU needs time to develop more confidence and a better understanding of the potential of CAs to further democratise EU institutions and their decision-making process.

European Environment Agency, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

Public participation in environmental decision-making is a legal right in Europe. This principle was established two decades ago by the Aarhus Convention. Since then, it has been increasingly recognised that participation is not only a matter of justice and democracy but also a practical necessity for transitioning into sustainability. This briefing focuses on different forms of public participation from a sustainability transitions perspective, highlights its core tenets, principles and pitfalls.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, Bywater, M., Jefferies, I., Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

Publication metadata
The EU civil society landscape is rich and diverse, reflecting a diversity of national traditions. It employs more than 5% of the active population.1 Culture, history, legislation/regulation and politics shape this sector, with significant differences in the role civil society plays, the type of entity through which it plays that role, and the level of establishment and development of the sector in each Member State. This research brings together results of an analysis on behalf of the European Commission to gain a better understanding of the civil society landscape in the area of protection and promotion of EU rights and values.

Publications Office of the European Union, 2024

In 2024, citizens go to the polls for the European Parliament elections. In the face of reduced trust in governance, increased political polarisation, and growing external threats to democracy, this Results Pack highlights 15 Horizon-funded projects exploring the current challenges to democracy, and testing innovative solutions that support better engagement with the democratic process.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Climate Action, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

The European Climate Stocktake was held on 27 October 2023 in Brussels and online. The event brought together policymakers, climate scientists, international organisations, business, non-governmental organisations, academia and youth to reflect on EU and global progress towards the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. It aimed to contribute to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Global Stocktake process which will conclude at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30 November to 12 December.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Giesecke, S., Mișcoiu, S., et al., Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

This policy brief explores how social confrontations relate to science and society, and how may they affect the future of democracy in Europe. The brief presents four scenarios that chart diverging pathways on how social confrontations could evolve in the next 15 years and how they could influence democratic developments in the EU. From these scenarios we extract conclusions and implications for R&I policymaking.

European Economic and Social Committee, Agostinelli, D., Klakla, J., et al., European Economic and Social Committee, 2023.

This study looks at the Conference of the Future of Europe’s (CoFoE) proposals on European democracy and the role of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). It explores different options for institutional reform of the EESC to best serve its purpose and increase citizens’ participation. To do this, the study examines different forms of participatory and deliberative practices, the current functions of the EESC, and the roles and structures of selected National Economic and Social Councils (NESCs).

European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Tintori, G., Scipioni, M., Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

This JRC Science for Policy Report provides a series of demographic and territorial analyses centred on the electoral participation of European voters in the European Parliament elections of 2019. Its main purpose is to analyse turnout dispersion from a territorial and demographic perspective across Europe and to identify target territories and audiences in the lead up to the 2024 EP elections, thus supporting the European Commission’s action of promoting and enhancing citizens’ participation in the democratic life of the EU. The work relies on a unique dataset that harmonises Member States electoral data with territorial and demographic data from EUROSTAT and National statistical institutes at municipal level, corresponding to EUROSTAT’s Local Administrative Units (LAU).

European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, Palomo Hernández, N., European Parliament, 2023.

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, explores the regulatory frameworks for citizen-initiated instruments of direct democracy, paying special attention to the citizens' legislative initiative and the citizen-initiated referendum. By carrying out a comparative analysis of the experience of the European Union Member States, as well as other notable cases outside the EU, it aims to nurture the debate on the introduction of such instruments at the supranational level into the EU's political system.

European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, Alemanno, A., European Parliament, 2022.

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, examines the EU participatory system and its existing participatory channels against mounting citizens’ expectations for greater participation in EU decision-making in the aftermath of the Conference on the Future of Europe. It proposes the creation of a permanent deliberative mechanism entailing the participation of randomly selected citizens tasked to provide advice upon some of the proposals originating from either existing participation channels or the EU institutions, in an attempt at making the EU more democratically responsive.

European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union, Deželan, T., European Parliament, 2023.

This study, commissioned by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the AFCO Committee, examines young people’s participation in democratic processes, with a special focus on the European elections. The study inspects the meaning of political participation for contemporary democracies and the dilemmas behind young people's participation and representation. It also assesses, from a youth perspective, the ongoing legislative proposals on European elections and the electoral participation of EU mobile citizens as well as the Citizens’ Proposals adopted in the plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe in May 2022.

European Economic and Social Committee, 2023.

Students from every corner of Europe took part in the 2023 youth summit on active citizenship and participatory democracy organised by the European Economic and Social Committee. During a two-day event in Brussels, students took part in workshops where they listened, learned and discussed participatory democracy with the aim of drawing up and presenting their recommendations on building communities of sustainable democracy.