Youth Forum & other NGOs agree on roadmap to increased participation

The final draft of a ‘roadmap’ on how to tackle the lack of citizen involvement in EU decision-making has been agreed at an NGO Forum in Riga at the beginning of this month. NGOs across Europe, including the European Youth Forum, have been working together to create proposals on how to ensure closer links between citizens and decision-makers.

Over 300 delegates from 34 European countries attended the NGO Forum on 2nd-3rd March, with representatives from NGOs, policy and decision makers and experts from Latvia and other EU Member States. The Forum took place over two days, discussing innovative approaches to improving democratic processes, promoting civic involvement and social inclusion.

Commission Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, was one of many high profile leaders to address the Forum. He acknowledged that as a result of the euro crisis “confidence and trust in policy-makers and institutions in our Member States and at EU-level has suffered”, however, he praised the objectives of the NGO forum, stating that, “consultation is an essential tool for producing high quality proposals and increasing the legitimacy of EU action”.

Although the importance of maintaining open, regular dialogue between decision-makers and citizens is recognised in Articles 11.1 and 11.2 of the Treaty of the European Union, broad agreement exists that these principles are not being upheld in current EU decision-making processes. The final roadmap presented by the NGO Forum provides expert proposals on how these articles can be better implemented. It is hoped that the roadmap can be used by the European institutions over the coming months to create a stronger democracy for all.

More information: https://eu2015.lv/events/political-meetings/ngo-forum-riga-2015-2015-03-02

Speech by Commissioner Dombrovskis: http://ec.europa.eu/commission/content/civil-society-dialogue-commission-wants-increase-ownership-reforms_en