After 3 week-ends of deliberation, the first citizens' recommendations for EU leaders were approved over the weekend.
Their contents are as important as the PROCESS that delivered them.
The @EUI_EU final panel revealed a humbling, collective learning experience. A 🧵 #CoFoE
Citizens, mostly not used to transnational exposure & live interpretation (!), played the game by engaging in debates generally considered a prerogative of political elites/pundits.
Media pluralism, rule of law, conditionality of EU funding, citizen education. Wow.
Citizens produced 42 recommendations – from simplifying the names of EU institutions to guaranteeing media pluralism and Europeanizing politics, with one common thread:
to enable emergence of a pan-EU public sphere to enhance EU accountability
No surprise, being freshly exposed to the benefits of transnational interactions, citizens almost unanimously proposed the establishment of a permanent mechanism of citizen assemblies at the EU level. Most likely tangible #cofoe outcome IMHO
While the quality of the facilitation varied across groups, it is THE citizens who generated the ideas and shape them up.
Expert input deliberately played a minor, indirect role, not to chill nor kill the deliberation
To be further discussed
Most recommendations may appear fuzzy to an expert audience, but they are the product of genuine citizen deliberation and clear enough to be understood by their political addressees #cofoe#EUCO
On a negative note, the single recommendation aimed at amplifying the voices of marginalised communities failed to reach the threshold of 70% of support. Difficult not to ascribe this to the lack of representation of these communities in the citizens’ panel @takeover_europe
This citizen panel on democracy has now concluded its work, but – as other 3 citizens panels prepare their recommendations (by mid-Feb?) – its 20 citizen ambassadors prepare their presentation to #COFOE plenary. Deliberation continues this time with the politicians in the room.
Ultimately, this first of the last round of citizen panels has set an important methodological precedent for those to come, and more importantly sent out a powerful message:
After 3 years studying the Conference on the Future of Europe, I had the chance to directly contribute to it by meeting - as expert witness - some of the citizens who have been randomly selected to discuss EU's future.
Despite its limitations, #CoFoE - and in particular its 800-citizen panels - are de facto creating a mini transnational conversation among citizens who would not otherwise talk about the EU.
El nombramiento de Mario Draghi - técnico y alto funcionario italiano - merece ser entendida a partir del espíritu de la Constitución como una expresión puramente política
La urgencia del nombramiento de #Draghi no debe vincularse únicamente a la pandemia. La profunda crisis del sistema político italiano es anterior y duradera, aunque ha sido fuertemente agravada por la covid-19.
En la convulsión de la crisis sanitaria, económica, política e institucional que atraviesa la República italiana, nadie puede dudar ya de que existe un riesgo real de que una fuerza de extrema derecha con ascendencia fascista pueda determinar el Gobierno del país
Despite all the buzz, #Draghi’s mandate - by finding its legitimacy in multiple sanitary, economic & democratic emergencies affecting the country - is set to confine his action to Italy (spoiler)
A thread 🧵
Contrary to conventional wisdom, #Draghi’s government is not technocratic but hybrid in nature with a surprisingly low-profile team, made of 2nd/3rd tier politicians and few technocrats without EU experience
This won’t help Mario in Brussels.
To see Draghi play some role in #euco need to wait few months, with Italian action plan submitted &validated, Covid-19 brought under control...
Ultimately, #draghi’s projection into EU conditional on his ability to make his incompatible supporting parties speak with 1 voice
How a Draghi's government would look like and entail for Italy?
Already depicted a major vindication by Matteo Renzi, the 4th technocratic government of Italy is set to produce major consequences for the Italian political system
A THREAD
1. A Draghi's government marks a major failure of the Italian political system and its class incapable to work meaningfully work in the country's interests
It's motivated by FEAR, and DISTRUST in the electoral democratic process.
2. Mario Draghi is the man who saved Europe during the Eurozone crisis, and today might be the only man able to save Italy having advocated for / inspired the formula underpinning Next Generation EU ft.com/content/c6d2de…