Participatory Democracy and a Shared European Vision – EUSTRAT Representation at the 2025 European Citizens’ Initiative Annual Gathering
On April 8, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) Annual Gathering took place in Brussels under the title "Spotlight on the European Citizens' Initiative: Collaborating Across the EU", where the Europe Strategy Research Institute (EUSTRAT) was represented by Viktória Lilla Pató. Our research institute, as the Hungarian Ambassador of the European Citizens’ Initiative, actively contributes to strengthening the values of participatory democracy and promoting knowledge-sharing across Europe.
The event brought together more than 90 participants, including representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and various civil society organisations. The high-level opening panel featured, among others, Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Trade.
A summary of the panel is available at the following link: “Amid Global Chaos, ECI Activism Is More Important Than Ever,” says Commissioner Šefčovič
In the plenary session, Viktória Lilla Pató highlighted two essential conditions the European Commission must meet to ensure the ECI functions effectively as a participatory tool:
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Strengthening the policy relevance of successful initiatives, so that proposals that reach one million validated signatures have tangible influence on EU decision-making;
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Institutionally supporting and sustaining the ECI Ambassadors Network, for example through dedicated EU funding, or by granting preferential access to directly managed EU calls for institutions participating in the network.
In her address, she also called on the participating countries to establish action-level international collaborations and to develop joint project proposals aimed at promoting and reinforcing the ECI.
The meeting yielded concrete results: one week later, the ACT4ECI consortium was formed, with our institute among its founding members. The consortium submitted a joint project proposal at the end of April 2025, aiming to implement local and regional ECI simulations, share best practices, and enhance the visibility of the ECI as a participatory tool. The outcome of the proposal is expected in autumn 2025.