“We must decrease the huge gap between citizens and politics. Europe will only succeed as a project of the citizens while it will fail as a project of the political elites. We need to discuss broadly which direction the European project is to head to and which constitution it is to have. A new EU convention that includes citizens and parliaments is the right means for more democracy in the EU” said Gerald Häfner on the occasion of the presentation.

This statement is justified by recent polls by the European Commission that reveal citizens’ dramatic loss of trust in the EU. According to the standard Eurobarometer of spring 2013 about two thirds of all EU citizens have no confidence in the EU. 29 per cent have a negative image of the EU. In 2007 this figure was low at 15 per cent.

Democracy International, also the „global coalition for direct democracy“, has started preparing a campaign for a new EU convention to be led by a broad alliance of young Europeans, academics, entrepreneurs and civil society representatives. Core demands are that the members of the EU convention are elected democratically and that the convention has adequate time for serious and thorough deliberation including proposals from civil society. The draft proposal that the EU convention will elaborate is to be ratified by referenda in all EU member states.

Please contact Armin Steuernagel at steuernagel@democracy-international.org if you want to volunteer in the campaign or if you have any questions. Armin Steuernagel is responsible for the campaign.

Text by Cora Pfafferott