Co-determination and participation in the European horizon
The elections to the European Parliament on the 9th of June 2024 will bring the political institutions of the European Union back into focus. There is no doubt that there is a remarkable democratic deficit. The Parliament does not have the right to initiate legislation, as it is the very task of a parliament. And after the European Parliament elections in 2019 , none of the candidates standing for election became president of the European Commission. It were the heads of government of the member states who had chosen Ursula von der Leyen for this job. “Brussels” is still distant and inexplicable to many citizens.
On the other hand, the vision of peace, cooperation and international understanding continues to have its special charm. It took political shape after the devastation of the Second World War, when cooperation, democracy and prosperity for all helped determine the political orientation of European politics by the nation states.
How can this vision be concretized in the conditions of 2024? What can citizens build on in this regard? The Ventotene Manifesto of 1941, in which Italian anti-fascists advocated a European federal state with a strong social balance? Or the Treaty of Lisbon of 2009, which is economically liberal but also provides for the possibility of a European Citizens’ Initiative? What is the charm of Europe today? How can citizens have a say in what happens?
In the project, we talk to committed members of the European Parliament. We explore Berlin as a hub between East and West and seek out interesting places, from the Finland Institute to the Club of Polish Failures, that stand for the idea of understanding, cultural exchange and learning from each other. We talk about lobbying, the difference between the European Council, the Council of the European Union and the Council of Europe – and explore how citizens can exert influence.
Such “MAKING VOICES HEARD” takes place in two respects: the people involved in the project develop theatrical scenes from the impressions and insights. In this way, they train their VOICE and assert it publicly in a performance.
If you would like to participate, please register : info@weltgewandt-ev.de, keyword « MAKING VOICES HEARD ». If you have any questions, please contact Sophia Bickhardt, Tel. 030 22802835.
The project is funded by the abriporta Foundation.
