site.btaEuropean Citizens' Panel First Session Concludes with Summary of 150 Views on Democratic Resilience

The first session of the European Citizens' Panel concludes Sunday with a summary of the views expressed by 150 citizens from all 27 European Union member states regarding democratic resilience. Over the past two days in Brussels, they have been discussing how European democracies can become more resilient and how citizens can participate more actively in public life.

On Sunday, participants will continue the discussions, identify key challenges and focus on upcoming meetings. The session opened by establishing a preliminary understanding of the concept of "democratic resilience" and its significance in daily life, and identifying major issues affecting democratic life that citizens consider important.

Among the participants are four Bulgarians: Gabriela Karadzhonova-Malcheva, born in Lyubimets, currently living and working in Plovdiv; Stefan Rusev from Ivaylovgrad; Mihaela Koleva, 12th-grade student at the St. Kliment Ohridski Secondary School in Yambol; and Aleksandar Kolev from Stara Zagora.

On Saturday, the Bulgarian representatives took part in focus group discussions. Together with citizens from Germany, Italy, Czechia, and other countries, they talked about various aspects of democratic resilience and shared their perspectives and personal experiences.

The discussions focused on how citizens receive and evaluate information, trust in public debate and institutions, opportunities for participation in decision-making, and the extent to which people feel heard by European, national, and local authorities. The European Commission defines democratic resilience as the ability of democratic institutions, civil society, citizens, and communities to prepare for, withstand, and recover from threats and crises, while upholding free elections, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and the opportunity to participate in public life.

The first session enables participants to exchange views across national borders and compare their diverse experiences. The concept behind citizens' panels is for randomly selected citizens to participate directly in discussions on EU policies and to formulate recommendations for the European Commission.

The panel’s work continues in October, with the second session taking place online from October 16 to 18. During this session, participants will build upon the September discussions and explore actions that can help citizens and communities participate more fully in democratic life and strengthen societal resilience. The drafting of recommendations based on the identified priorities is also scheduled to begin at that time.

The final session will take place in Brussels in November. Participants will then consolidate the discussions and refine their ideas into final recommendations for the European Commission. The Commission will use these recommendations in its subsequent work on strengthening democracy in the EU within the framework of the European democracy shield.