Programme

Brussels, 10 April 2018

9.30   Registration and welcome coffee

10.00   Opening speech

  • Georges Dassis, President of the European Economic and Social Committee

10.15   Opening session

Moderator: Irini Pari, President of the EESC's ECI ad hoc Group

  • Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission
  • György Schöpflin, member of the European Parliament
  • Monika Panayotova, Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU
  • Emily O'Reilly, European Ombudsman

Followed by Q&A session, including a question round with the ECI DAY partners and the floor.

Council Presidencies 2018:
  • Representing the Bulgarian Presidency:
    • Julian Vankov, Head of the Unit "Regional Database", Directorate-General Civil Registration and Administrative Services, Ministry of the Regional Development and Public Works
  • Representing the Austrian Presidency:
    • dr Hubert Fuchs, State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance

Followed by Q&A session, including a question round with the ECI DAY partners and the floor.

12.00   Lunch break

13.30   Welcome speech

  • Luca Jahier, president of EESC Group III

13.40   Working together: maximising the visibility and impact of the successful ECIs in view of the new ECI proposal

The new ECI proposal redefines many technical aspects of the mechanism, which will have a direct impact on the role of various stakeholders, including: the EU institutions, Member States and civil society organisations. This panel will look at the proposal and a possible role for each stakeholder group, to help increase the political visibility and dimension of the ECI, as well as to identify the potential areas for working together.

Moderator: Kinga Joó, rapporteur of the EESC's opinion on the ECI proposal

  • Josep-Maria Terricabras, member of the European Parliament / Greens
  • Dr James Organ, Law School of the University of Liverpool, EESC expert to the rapporteur of the opinion
  • Daniela Vancic, European Programme Manager, Democracy International

With contributions from the ECI organisers:

  • Ana del Pino, ECI: One of Us
  • Pablo Sánchez Centellas, ECI: Right2Water
  • David Schwartz, ECI: Ban Glyphosate
  • László Bodor, Minority SafePack campaign coordinator
  • Michel Cermak, ECI: Stop TTIP
  • Jules Bejot, ECI: Welcoming Europe
  • Dr. Sebastian Reimer, ECI: Stop extremism

15.00 – 17.00      Participatory workshops (coffee break at 15.45)

WORKSHOP 1: The ECI Online Collaborative Platform: Supporting the ECI Community!

Following a proposal from the European Parliament, the European Commission is launching an ECI Online Collaborative Platform as a pilot project to offer support and advice on the organisation of European citizens' initiatives. The platform will foster interaction between (potential) organisers, citizen and experts. It will help citizens interested in starting an ECI to learn more about it through best practices, allowing them to discuss EU policies and ECI proposals, to find partners in other countries, to ask advice to experts, prepare campaigns and to exchange experiences. The Commission has entrusted the running of this pilot project to a consortium made up of the European Service Network (ESN), the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) and CARSA, as part of a contract for services. The aim of this interactive workshop is to present the scope and services of the Online Collaborative Platform and allow participants to test it out in order to provide feedback on the different features.

This workshop is organised by the ECAS, one of the members of the consortium in charge of running the Online Collaborative Platform.

Moderator: Elisa Lironi, Digital Democracy Manager, European Citizen Action Service

  • Pascal Herry, Secretariat-General, European Commission
  • Charlotte Rive, Secretariat-General, European Commission
  • Assya Kavrakova, Executive Director, European Citizen Action Service
  • Simon Blackley, European Parliament Account Manager, European Service Network
  • Daniel Schily, Co-Founder, Democracy International                                                                                                  

WORKSHOP 2: Pioneering participation: The Reform of the ECI as a starting point for a more participatory European Union

Ordinary citizens feel alienated by the Brussels’ political process – more than ever before. The Lisbon Treaty aimed to make the EU more democratic. But most Europeans still cannot see how they can become part of EU politics. What can and should the EU do beyond ECI-reform? Which innovative participatory methods would effectively bring the Union closer to its citizens?

This workshop is co-organised by The ECI Campaign and Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Moderation: Maarten de Groot, The ECI Campaign, and Dr Dominik Hierlemann, Bertelsmann Stiftung

  • Valérie Gomez-Bassac, member of the French National Assembly, rapporteur for the public consultation on the remaking of Europe (Consultations Citoyennes pour la Refondation de l'Europe)
  • Kalypso Nicolaïdis, professor of International Relations, Director of the Centre for International Studies, University of Oxford
  • Niccolo Milanese, co-president, European Alternatives
  • Guillermo Martínez Suárez, member of the European Committee of the Regions, Minister of the Presidency of the Principality of Asturias, rapporteur on EU Citizens report 2017

WORKSKHOP 3: ECItizen: Building synergies between the four recent ECIs addressing EU citizenship in order to contribute to deepening the debate on EU citizenship

The main objectives of the workshop are to promote synergies between the four recent ECIs addressing EU citizenship (Retaining European Citizenship, EU Citizenship for Europeans: United in diversity in spite of ius soli and ius sanguinis, European Free Movement Instrument, More than Education – shaping active and responsible citizens) in order to contribute to expanding the debate on this subject. How can EU citizenship be transformed and what can be done to further streamline this process? Why is it important to rethink its transnational and political dimension? How does Brexit factor into the debate? Will the revision of the ECI have a transformative effect on EU citizens? These questions will guide the debate.

This workshop is organised by Act4Free Movement.

Moderator: Petar Marković, Act4FreeMovement / University of Oxford

  • Tony Simpson, ECI: Retaining European Citizenship
  • Ed Alvarado, ECI: EU Citizenship for Europeans in Spite of jus soli and jus sanguinis
  • Elinne Mertens, AEGEE-Europe - European Students’ Forum / ECI: More than Education – shaping active and responsible citizens
  • Alvaro Oleart, a PhD fellow at the Université libre de Bruxelles

Rooms and interpretation:

  • Opening session - room JDE 62 - English, French, German and Bulgarian
  • Lunch - Atrium 6
  • Afternoon session - room JDE 62 - English, French, German
  • Workshop 1 - Atrium 5 - English
  • Workshop 2 - JDE 63 - English, French, Spanish
  • Workshop 3 - JDE 61 - English
  • Information stands - Foyer 6

Downloads

ECI DAY 2018 Programme