Ms. Ingrid Godkin, Member of Commissioner Dubravka Šuica’s Cabinet (Commissioner for Democracy and Demography), delivered a speech at the EuComMeet Final Event “Just Transition and Participatory Democracy” which took place at the European Committee of the Regions on June 26, 2024.
After praising the three-year collaboration of the Consortium and highlighting the project’s success in promoting democratic innovation at all governance levels, Ms. Godkin underlined the increasing significance of Citizens’ Panels in the EU, which are becoming a regular feature of democratic life in the European Union gathering randomly-selected citizens from all 27 member states to discuss key proposals at the European level. These panels work in small groups and plenaries with the support of a facilitation team to make recommendations for the European Commission’s policies and initiatives. In this regard, Ms. Godkin noted the importance of supporting democratic innovation, citing the Belgian Presidency’s citizens’ panel on artificial intelligence as a model for other Member States.
Furthermore, Ms. Godkin stressed the need for a transparent public space to maintain democratic engagement between elections and prevent civic disengagement and highlighted the role of the Conference on the Future of Europe and the Commission’s collaboration with the JRC in promoting science-based policymaking and citizen participation. To conclude, she expressed optimism that both online and offline deliberative participative initiatives help construct a robust political culture that is more consensual than polarised.