Stand up, get up! Empowering citizens across Europe

Engaging people in the political process and regaining their trust is the key question facing Europe as it redefines itself during the 2019 elections campaign. But Europe can’t do this on its own. To take full advantage of this key moment, politicians and citizens need to come together to reflect on the current status of the European Project. If we are truly committed to defending and rebuilding democracy, now is the time to take joint action.

Friends of Europe is organising several discussions with citizens on how to involve people in politics. At the last EYL40 seminar, we invited 100 Warsaw residents to join the Young Leaders for a conversation on active citizenship. In this session, we will continue the discussion, this time with Maltese citizens. We will be asking ask the Young Leaders and our Maltese participants to debate the practical implication of the recommendations tabled at the Warsaw meeting: are you willing to put in the time and effort needed to participate in politics? If yes, how? What practical tools could Europe introduce to facilitate your participation?

The session will aim to identify key recommendations to improve the direct participation of citizens in national and EU politics. These recommendations will be shared with EU decision makers in the lead up to the 2019 European elections.