From 13 January to 20 February 2021, a second nationwide Citizens' Assembly took place in Germany. During ten online sessions, for a total of 50 hours, 169 citizens drawn by lot discussed the "role of Germany in the world". Patronage for the Assembly was assured by Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble, who will receive the foreign policy recommendations that were formulated by the citizens in an official handover ceremony on 19 March. The Citizens' Assembly not only served to collect citizens' input on Germany's role in the world, but was also aimed at developing and testing a new form of citizen participation at the German federal level. The results and recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly will be handed over to all parliamentary groups in the Bundestag, who will discuss it before the end of this legislative period. The Citizens' Assembly was initiated by Mehr Demokratie e.V. and the think tank Es geht LOS.

One of the different working groups of the Citizens' Assembly specifically dealt with the European Union. Around 35 participants took a deeper look at two key challenges for the EU : Decision-making on the common European foreign policy and EU migration policy. With these issues in mind, they developed guidelines and recommendations on Germany's role in the world. In their discussions, the citizens showed a strong consensus that Germany can only implement its own interests as part of a united, strong and capable Europe. For its part, the EU now wants to involve EU citizens in a Europe-wide discussion with the "Conference on the Future of Europe". What were the results and experiences of the Citizens' Assembly? How do politicians view Europe and its citizens? How can foreign and European policy be discussed with citizens?

All of this will be discussed by:

• Franziska Brantner, Member of the German Bundestag, Parliamentary Secretary and Spokesperson on European Policy for the Alliance 90/The Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag
• Charlotte Felthöfer, student and participant of the Citizens' Assembly
• Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Member of the Bundestag, Acting Chairman of the FDP Parliamentary Group and responsible for foreign, security, European and development policy
• Carsten Mumm, economist and financial accountant, participant of the Citizens' Assembly
• Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the EU Commission for Democracy and Demography
• Moderation: Dr. Cornelius Adebahr, independent political analyst and consultant

An online event of the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius and the Robert Bosch Stiftung