2010/2011 – “EU=YOU!”

European Union and its citizens

“EU=You! Citizen’s engagement in the EU after the Treaty of Lisbon” is the title of the extensive political project our organisation is arranging for more than half a year. At four events in total citizens from (almost) whole Europe got informed of and discussed about the treaty of Lisbon, democracy in the EU, and options for straight participance.

It sounds like a simple equation, but it still doesn’t equate everywhere: EU=You, Europe is you. More and more decisions are made at EU-level, which are effecting more and more people. What is happening in Brussels or Luxembourg meanwhile regards everyone in Erfurt. The treaty of Lisbon, the new European constitution, came to effect in 2009, but who really knows, what it contains in detail?

The first event: public meeting in Erfurt, October 16^th, 2010

The second event: public conference in Erfurt, December 3^rd-7^th, 2010

The third event: expert forum in Pilsen, Czech Republic, March 5^th-6^th, 2011

The fourth event: public meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, April 1^st-3^rd, 2011

The last event – a public debate – took place from April 1^st to 3^rd, 2011 in The Hague, Netherlands. This second public meeting offered comprehension of the treaty of Lisbon in general, its composition and its guiding principles. An intense debate with attendant experts and inhabitants of The Hague had been aimed; the central question thereby was: Is the EU meanwhile capable to act more democratic, more transparent, and citizen-friendly? Moreover, media and society have been informed about the project at large, its aims, realised events and whose results. Working language at this international event had been English.

The project was supported by the “Europe for Citizens” programme of the European Commission. Additional information about the events, the conference und the programme is available at www.europe-is-you.org. The final project documentation as brochure (PDF) is available here: Part 1, Part 2.