transform! europe’s Spanish observer organisation Fundación Instituto 25M organises this seminar to reflect on the impact of the pandemic on the democratic governance of the European Union.
An opportunity to deepen democratic governance.
On the 10th March, the Joint Declaration between the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament was signed, opening the Conference on the Future of Europe: a proposal that seeks to give a voice to European society in a process that emphasises the centrality of citizens and the intention, within the regulatory frameworks of the European Union (EU), to meet their demands. Among the issues of greatest interest and concern are the democratic functioning of the EU and the democratic legitimacy of its decisions.
The pandemic situation has put to the test both the EU’s ability to deliver and the robustness of the European project. In this scenario, it has been possible to observe the complexity of the decision-making process and the difficulties in seeking common and coordinated frameworks in the development of policies toe face the pandemic, in clear correlation with the challenges posed by the European integration process as factor of internal and external democratisation.
In this context, our seminar seeks, in the first place, to reflect on the impact of the pandemic on the democratic governance of the European Union. We ask ourselves what lessons can be learned, and how to turn the situation into an opportunity to improve democratic governance of the institutions and their democratic legitimacy, given citizens’ sustained demand for more European policies. In addition, we challenge democratic governance as a response to the rise of authoritarianism.
This initiative takes place in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe, echoing the willingness of the organising institutions to gather citizens’ views in an interesting and novel bottom-up process.
Our working hypothesis is that far-reaching changes will be necessary to raise levels of credibility and deepen the legitimacy of decisions. European citizens demand more EU involvement in dealing with future health emergencies, including the implementation of an European health policy. Both issues require major economic and institutional changes, which must at least be addressed and discussed.
Monday, 27 September 2021
12.30 – 19.15 (CET)
languages: English, Spanish
Programme
Conference introduction
12:30 – 12:45 (CET)
Juan Carlos Monedero, Director of the Foundation 25M
Round table 1 – The pandemic’s political impact in the democratic governance of the EU
12:45 – 14:15 (CET)
Joan Subirats, Professor of Political Sciences
Walter Baier, board member and former political coordinator of transform! europe
Lucía Múñoz, Podemos MP
Moderation: Esther Miranda, International Relations Adviser of Podemos
Round table 2 – The public opinion in the EU: social Europe and democratic legitimacy
16:00 – 17:30 (CET)
María Eugenia Rodríguez-Palop, MEP
Pablo Sánchez Centellas, EPSU (European Public Services Union) Communications Officer
Philippe Pochet, General Director of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)
Moderation: Marga Ferré, Co-President of transform! europe
Round table 3 – Institutional reforms for a fully democratic governance of the EU
17:45 – 19:15 (CET)
Anne-Laure Delatte, Researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique – CNRS (Francia) and Grand Continent
Juan Carlos Monedero, Director of Foundation 25M and professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Idoia Villanueva, International Manager of Podemos
Moderation: Pedro Chaves, IELAT (University of Alcalá de Henares).