People’s hearing on the Europe of the Future
People’s hearing on the Europe of the Future
As part of the debate on the Citizens’ Agenda, the European Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament organised a People’s Hearing in Odense in 2006 on the Future of Europe.
419 participants were representatively selected by a public opinion institute. Instead of making long presentations, the participants formed up into groups in which they prepared questions for politicians and experts.
After the meeting the participants were asked to prioritise certain specified EU cooperation areas. Cross-border environmental problems, international terrorism, research, and technological development scored most points.
The participants also pointed up what was wrong with the EU. Here, too little control over EU funds, excessively complicated working procedures and too little reform of the agricultural policy featured most prominently. Danes also want more effective action against fraud, more openness and the removal of agricultural support - even if Denmark has a big agricultural sector.
