EU Democracy Reform Observatory

Insights, in-depth analysis, Ideas Papers News Comments Conversations Recommendations

The future of democracy and democratic reform in Europe

Get to know us

The EU Democracy Reform Observatory is a joint initiative by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the European Policy Centre, the King Baudouin Foundation and the Stiftung Mercator, which aims to foster debate and discussion on modernising European democracy.

In a context both set and shaped by the Conference on the Future of Europe and the watershed moment of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it will provide recommendations on how to make democracy and decision-making more legitimate, participatory, and effective in the EU.

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Contact

Dominik Hierlemann

Senior Expert

Bertelsmann Stiftung

Janis Emmanouilidis

Deputy Chief Executive & Director of Studies

European Policy Centre

News

Democracy Reform Conversations 1

The first edition of Democracy Conversations, a series of interactive online events on topics most crucial for European democracy and its reform, launched the EU Democracy Observatory and discussed the EU's current standing in terms of citizen participation after the first generation of European Citizens Panels on food waste, learning […]
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Assessing European Citizens Panels: Greater Ambition Needed

Conference Conversations 12 – The end of the Conference on the Future of Europe: Where do we go from here?

The Conference on the Future of Europe: From citizens’ recommendations to EU policy

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EU Democracy reform Monitor

The EU Democracy Monitor is a rolling timeline that tracks the evolution of democratic reform in the EU since the end of the Conference on the Future of Europe, with the aim of providing a comprehensive overview of developments across different institutions and actors, from the national to the EU level. The Monitor tracks: follow up to the Conference on the Future of Europe; participatory infrastructure reform; institutional reform and treaty change; and the 2024 European elections.
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Papers

How do we modernise democracy in the EU? What is the state and prospects of participatory democracy in this context? How can representative and participatory democracy work together? How can we make the best out of the outcomes of the Conference on the Future of Europe? Is there any room and appetite to reform the EU treaties? With our publications, we seek to spark and shape ideas about modernising European democracy through in-depth and outside-of-the-box research, analysis, debate, and policy discussion.  

Assessing European citizens panels – greater ambition needed

The Conference on the Future of Europe demonstrated that Citizens’ Panels can function as a working instrument of citizen participation in EU policy-making. The European Commission pushed the idea forward and organised the first European Citizens’ Panels on the topics of food waste, virtual worlds, and learning mobility between December 2022 and May 2023.
In this paper, the EU Democracy Reform Observatory team summarise their observations on how the European Citizens’ Panels worked in practice. We outline a set of recommendations to enhance Panels’ effectiveness and make them a better-functioning tool for involving citizens and ultimately supporting EU democracy.

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6. September 2023

Adding Ambition to Europe’s Unity

The war in Ukraine has shown that only by acting together can the European Union hope to remain an effective player. At the June 23-24 EU summit, the European Council should agree to establish a “Wise Wo|men Group” tasked with identifying core policy priorities and governance reforms.
In this Open Letter, members of the Conference Observatory’s High-Level Advisory Group put forward a proposal for such a Group, with recommendations on how the EU 27 should respond to today’s transformative times by paving the way for an ambitious joint future.

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21. June 2022

After the Conference on the Future of Europe – Moving into a new era

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is a watershed moment for Europe, challenging many of our fundamental assumptions.
When the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) comes to an end on 9 May, EU institutions must not only decide on the follow-up to this exercise but, more fundamentally, give direction to the future of the European project. It will require more than just a few well-intended Sunday speeches. The multiple consequences of the new era we live in have increased the urgency of policy reforms as well as institutional innovations in different areas. But the exact direction of travel is clearer in some areas (e.g. energy independence from Russia) than in others (e.g. future of EU defence or democratic reform).

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6. May 2022
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Events & Multimedia

Our interactive event series, ‘Democracy Reform Conversations’, is a continuation of our earlier series, ‘Conference Conversations’, in which our experts talk with high-level guests about how to make democracy and decision-making more legitimate, participatory, and effective in Europe. Find out about previous and upcoming events here.

Democracy Reform Conversations 1

The first edition of Democracy Conversations, a series of interactive online events on topics most crucial for European democracy and its reform, launched the EU Democracy Observatory and discussed the EU's current standing in terms of citizen participation after the first generation of European Citizens Panels on food waste, learning mobility, and virtual worlds completed their work. The paper titled 'Assessing European Citizens' Panels: Greater Ambition Needed,' published by the EU Democracy Reform Observatory team, served as the basis for the discussion.

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Conference Conversations 12 – The end of the Conference on the Future of Europe: Where do we go from here?

This edition of Conference Conversations followed the official close of the Conference on the Future of Europe on 9 May and the presentation of the final report to the presidents of the three main EU institutions. We brought together two key players to take stock of the Conference and discuss ...

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Conference Conversations 11 – The war in Ukraine and the (Conference on the) future of Europe

On the morning of the final Conference Plenary, we held the eleventh edition of our Conference Conversations series. As the Conference wraps up and prepares its final report, our panellists reassessed where the Conference on the Future of Europe stands in light of global developments. Russia’s war of aggression against ...

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The EU Democracy Reform Observatory is a joint initiative by

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