Democracy in Europe is in distress, as it is in the rest of the world. Threatened from within and without by electoral interference, mass surveillance, disinformation and partisan polarisation, a toxic cocktail of populism and authoritarianism is sweeping the globe from America to Russia, India to China. At a time when action is sorely needed at planetary level, to tackle such issues as environmental collapse, resource scarcity and future pandemics, nation-states are struggling to work together across borders.
The EU is feeling the squeeze on all sides. While some continue to see the continent as a safe haven – a last bastion of liberal democracy, human-centric technology and cooperation between states – this is no time for complacency. Our world of strongmen has arguably normalized power grabs and the reign of techno-monarchs. The risk of subversion and contagion is serious. Public trust in institutions is declining, electoral participation plummeting. And with the rise of authoritarian governments, the rule of law is in a fragile state.
Democrats of all stripes now face the most urgent question of our time: How can Europe deliver fairer and more decisive action on issues of planetary importance, from climate, energy and migration policy to the regulation of weapons, chemicals, food, digital spaces and emerging technologies?
We believe that the answer lies to a great extent in empowering publics of all stripes to resist authoritarianism – in striking a new bargain between traditional representative politics and genuine citizen engagement to address the dilemmas of planetary politics in every sphere of life.
Transnational citizens’ assemblies are at the heart of such democratic renewal. Across the EU, peoples’ juries and panels of all kinds are already shaking-up inertia. Municipal and regional councils are coordinating participatory budgeting via trans-local networks. MEPs are integrating deliberative techniques and transnational problem-solving exercises into party-political consultations. Building on the Conference on the Future of Europe, the European Commission has convened randomly selected, stratified, multi-lingual citizens’ panels to bring people directly into the policy-making process.
But what if there was scope for something more ambitious still? What if a broader European public could be mobilized to take ownership of these innovations, and move the needle further? What if cross border participatory deliberation – networked, polycentric, multilingual – were to become an integral part of the EU political system as a whole, enabling citizens to connect across borders, and not only governments, parliamentary representatives, regulators and corporations? Could the EU pioneer a something akin to a fourth branch of government in this way, or better still an entirely innovative body linking EU governance and the broader public sphere? How do we draw inspiration from other democratic experiments around the world?
We believe what is most needed today is a bold, broad and inclusive campaign for a permanent Peoples’ Assembly for Europe. A Democratic Odyssey, made up of ships of all kinds, big and small, of all colours and shapes. Activists, artists, journalists, political scientists and NGOs will play vital roles. As will civil servants, MPs, MEPs and other policymakers. There’s no doubt we will face storms and ambushes along the way. But we trust the collective intelligence of our flotilla to set the right coordinates. By working with schools, libraries, theatres and workplaces, by empowering under-represented groups and developing collaborations with citizen media we will author a narrative, together, that will convince the naysayers.
Crucially, such an assembly would complement the European parliament by creating a space where citizens will join MPs and MEPs to grow the European public sphere. We have published an e-book to make the case here.
We are under no illusions. The path to such an assembly will take years, perhaps decades. But what better time to start this journey? With a new European Parliament in place , and a new Commission agenda taking shape, we have a unique chance to grow our fleet. As the institutions refine their experiments, social movements are in the streets and squares calling ever-louder for meaningful democratic renewal beyond elections, starting with citizens’ assemblies. The Odyssey will push for holistic renewal, integrating deliberative democracy with proposals for participatory budgeting from EU to local level, transnational electoral lists for the European Parliament as well as citizens’ initiatives and referendums that are giving people a direct say on the issues that matter most. By bringing these strands together, through the synthesising energy of a permanent transnational assembly, we will offer an ambitious yet credible path to reinvigorating and revitalising EU politics.
We have designed and put in motion a ‘proof of concept’ or pilot assembly, which held its first in-person meeting in Athens in September 2024. Our aim is to demonstrate -albeit very imperfectly given the constraints - what a travelling assembly in the EU could look like, and what innovative methods could be used to connect it with the peoples of Europe on their respective islands. In short, the philosophy ought to be: Europe comes to town! As such, our ship will dock in every European port! With membership in the assembly growing from city to city while retaining the original members, we are inventing a new kind of trans-localism that will ground transnational cooperation in the real life of people where they live, work and love. Crucially, this kind of navigation minimizes carbon footprint and resources. The detailed report from Athens provides a flavor of this method and philosophy..
As a travelling assembly, members meet again in Florence in February 2025 and Vienna in the spring of 2025, thus completing the first cycle of the Democratic Odyssey.
Our twin guiding concept are radical transparency and radical inclusiveness. Ever since our launch in 2023, we have built a broad coalition of actors as a consortium of 30 organisations, supported since by European Commissioner Dubravka Šuica and many civil servants and MEPs. We have also grown a constituent network up to more than 700 ‘friends of the assembly’ who gather online every two weeks to support the process. This network is open to anyone who wants to join the flotilla.
Moreover, in concert with the Pilot Assembly taking place in 2024-2025, various sister projects are planting democratic seeds. For example, as design experts, we have contributed to the upcoming EU Youth Assembly on Pollinators or to the new assembly process set up by our friends at CitiDem.
Our journey will continue in 2025-2026 and beyond, as our push for a permanent People’s Assembly for Europe continues to thrive from the momentum created by our pilot, travelling Assembly.