Back to the compass

1. Guarantee a well-functioning democracy and strengthen participation

What we stand for: A strong democracy relies on the consistent application of justice, transparent governance, adherence to fundamental rights, and a vibrant, inclusive political dialogue that empowers civil society activism. Yet, the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report highlights ongoing challenges to judicial independence, media freedom, and anti-corruption efforts in several Member States. Organisations and human rights defenders across the EU are facing increasing challenges and threats, including violent attacks, judicial and administrative harassment, online and offline smear campaigns and intimidation. EU&U believes that upholding the rule of law is not only a legal necessity but also a moral imperative for preserving the trust and unity of the European project.

Additionally, we consider youth participation an essential benchmark for the strength of the EU’s democratic foundation. Although the political decisions made today will affect the young generation for decades to come, young people have been disproportionately struggling to make their voices heard in important decisions. A 2021 Eurobarometer report shows that 53% of young people feel they have little or no say in decision-making at the local level, with this figure rising to 70% at the European level. While these statistics are concerning, we strongly believe that the future of the European Union lies in the hands of its youth.

EU&U is strongly committed to empowering young people to become active citizens by equipping them with the information and skills needed to hold their representatives accountable. Furthermore, EU&U advocates for institutions to actively support and listen to young people, ensuring their voices help shape public decisions.

Strengthening youth participation and diversity

While young people represent 25% of the EU’s population and will live longest with the outcomes of today’s policy choices, they are still not adequately represented in political forums and consultations.

Despite 67% of young people thinking that actions taken by the EU have an impact on their daily life, only 36% of voters aged 15-24 and 46% of voters aged 25-39 participated in the last European elections. Income, educational level, residential mobility, as well as race, ethnicity, gender, citizenship, and religion-related inequalities are shown to contribute to young people’s level of involvement in the democratic process. 

While initiatives promoted by European institutions such as the EU Youth Dialogues and the European Youth Event have increased young people’s opportunities to interact with the European decision-making process, many are still left aside as a result of education, income, and mobility inequalities. EU&U applauds the initiatives taken by the European institutions to make accessibility a priority of its programmes and supports the acceleration of inclusivity measures to ensure young voices from diverse backgrounds can weigh in on youth policy discussions.

  • Youth-proof legislation: Implement a mandatory EU ‘Youth Test’ for all legislation and policy proposals, ensuring relevance to young people, meaningful engagement with diverse youth stakeholders, including vulnerable groups, thorough impact assessments, targeted mitigation of adverse effects, and transparent publication of results in accessible, youth-friendly language.

  • Protect youth organisations and civil society actors: Allocate resources to support the daily operation, training, and project implementation of youth organisations and other civil society actors giving voice to under-represented youth; guarantee accessibility of funding at local, regional, national, and European levels; and provide adequate political and legal protection to youth, human rights, gender equality, and environmental organisations.

  • Lower the voting age to 16: Enable younger citizens across Europe to participate fully in democracy by lowering the voting age and harmonising it throughout the EU, while simultaneously strengthening civic education within school curricula to ensure political literacy at the time of voting, thereby empowering youth to influence policies that affect them.

  • Strengthen participatory democracy: Establish regular citizens’ panels modelled on the Conference on the Future of Europe, continue Youth and Policy Dialogues, simplify European Citizens’ Initiatives by removing bureaucratic barriers, extending signature deadlines, making signing more accessible, and ensure the Commission commits to translating citizens’ input into concrete legislation.

  • Protect the democratic process: Regulate social media to counter disinformation, hate speech and instigations to violence; hold EU institutions accountable for swift action against rule of law breaches; adopt funding freezes, fines, and other sanctions against governments that restrict civil society or threaten freedoms of expression, assembly, and association; and protect civil society from repressive actions such as strategic lawsuits against public participation.

  • Invest in culture as the foundation of democracy: Culture is not an accessory to democracy; it is essential for its survival and central to active citizenship. Recent Eurobarometer data shows that citizens involved in cultural activities are more likely to be involved in their societies. We must therefore recognise cultural participation as a fundamental right for all EU citizens, particularly youth. The EU must invest in and protect open, inclusive, and safe cultural spaces, from local libraries to independent arts venues, where democratic practices, critical thinking, and civic expression can flourish, especially in places where democracy is under threat.

  • Help create and protect a diverse European media landscape, with editorial independence: Support innovative, alternative, and youth-led media through European funding mechanisms to keep citizens informed about EU policies and developments, and reduce media dependence on advertising so they can produce independent, high-quality content and ensure information reaches people where they are.

  • Reinforce the rule of law: Ensure legal certainty and fairness so all individuals are treated with dignity, equality, and proportionality; adopt an ethics framework as a political commitment to integrity; and strengthen cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to prevent, detect, and sanction conflicts of interest, corruption, and abuse of power.

  • Incorporate foresight into legislation: Ensure EU laws are adaptable to unforeseen events, crises, and geopolitical shifts through built-in flexibility, ongoing evaluation, and broad consultations with public, private, and civil society stakeholders at national and European levels; support anticipatory research and the development of conceptual legal frameworks to protect citizens and consumers from potential monopolisation and exploitative practices by powerful actors in emerging technologies (e.g. climate intervention).

  • Commit to enhancing transparency: Make European institutions more open and information widely accessible; support Member States in streamlining administrative bureaucracy and improving transparency and accessibility of processes at local, regional, and national levels.

  • Make the electoral process more accessible: Guarantee the voting and candidacy rights of all persons with disabilities across the EU; implement measures to maximise accessibility throughout the electoral process, including procedures, facilities, materials, and information, and reasonable accommodations such as advance voting, tactile stencils, QR codes, easy-to-read, sign language, or Braille; and ensure the free choice of assistance in casting one’s vote.

  • Guarantee the right to be informed about EU citizenship: Support the implementation of comprehensive citizenship and EU education across Member States; enhance participation through formal, non-formal, and informal learning; and facilitate education and mobility opportunities abroad.

  • Support EU enlargement: Allocate increased resources to assist accession countries in accelerating reforms, especially on the rule of law, human rights, environment, and socioeconomic standards; and promote innovative approaches such as gradual accession by policy areas to facilitate the timely integration of Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership states once the criteria are met.

  • Deepen European democracy: Introduce transnational voting lists for European Parliament elections with a Union-wide constituency using a mixed proportional system combining EU-wide and national or regional lists; strengthen the lead-candidate principle; and transform existing Europarties into genuine pan-European political parties.

  • Prepare treaty reform: Advance treaty change discussions without further delay, prioritise the replacement of the intergovernmental veto system with faster majority voting, and complete the European Defence and Health Unions.

‘Democratic participation and the rule of law are not optional ideals - they are fundamental to ensuring that people can live their lives freely and according to their own choices. However, as both come increasingly under threat, it is clear that we must undertake a deep reform of our democratic European institutions. 

To strengthen European citizenship and restore trust in our democratic systems, treaty change is not just desirable - it is essential. Only through such reform can we safeguard the future of democracy and the rule of law in Europe.’

Christelle Savall, President, JEF Europe