The Conference on the Future of Europe and its democratic potential

Since some 15 years, the European Union is challenged by an accumulation of significant crises. One of such crises involves the state of democratic institutions. As also witnessed by the recent European elections, political forces with questionable democratic credentials are increasingly successful in mobilizing the European electorate (even if numbers of electoral abstention remain very high). European democracy, as liberal, representative democracy in general, appears to be in a dire state. It suffers from augmenting citizen distrust in politicians, political parties, and institutions, a structurally low levels of citizen engagement and participation in elections, increasing voter volatility, a weakening of traditional political parties, and increased polarization and radicalization of the political landscape. According to many observers, (European) democracy needs to be reinvented or at least prominently renovated. One core problem is the lack of meaningful and effective input by ordinary citizens in the democratic decision-making process. A core instrument to counter democratic malaise lies in the area of participatory democracy and enhanced citizens engagement. The most debated democratic innovation in recent years is the citizens’ assembly (or related forms such as mini-publics or citizens’ juries). This chapter discusses one unique experiment with a citizens’ assembly on the transnational level, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFE), a one-year event organized by the European institutions and held between 2021-22. I will first briefly discuss the origins of the Conference. Second, I will discuss the CoFE’s operation in particular in terms of actual citizens engagement and participation.37 Third, I will briefly conclude that the CoFE process, if to lead to significant effects on citizens engagement with the EU, would need a proper institutionalization of a permanent European Citizens’ Assembly.