The set of recommendations proposed by the participants of the EU for Global Citizens’ Panels held in Athens, Greece, hosted by partner organisation DWB Greece.
The Greek Citizens Panels took place in Athens bewteen March and April. The Local Panel was held on 10 March 2025 and the Transnational one between 24–26 April 2025. Academics, youth, activists came together to discuss two main topics (i) Migration and the role of the EU; and (ii) Democracy and Human Rights.
Recommendations from the Local Citizens’ Panel
- Most participants proposed the idea for the EU to be a peacekeeper worldwide and especially in Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa.
- Another recommendation by the participants was the need for more decent places for migrants and refugees to stay not only for a short but also for a long time in the EU member states.
- There was also the recommendation for the increasing of the budget of the EU regarding the holistic development of the neighboring countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa in order for the citizens of those countries to have peace and opportunities for a decent life. This would lead to the decrease of migration to the EU.
Recommendations from the Transnational Citizens’ Panel
Democracy
- The participants proposed the establishment of electronic voting for the European Elections and other local elections in the member states
- Another recommendation was the participation of the citizens in the EU and the UN institutions in a more interactive and participatory way, following the model of the European Citizens Initiative
- Improvement of anticorruption in institutions for more transparency.
Migration
- Improvement of the Frontex to secure the EU Borders effectively.
- Improvement of the reception of the refugees securing the basic needs for home, school, employment and education in parallel with free language courses of the language of the host country. The maximum number of receiving refugees for the EU and for each member state shall be decided after consultation and taking into account experts’ opinions. Different numbers of percenages were proposed and most participants proposed 5 – 10 % of the national population.
- Improvement of the reception of the migrants securing the basic needs for home, school, employment and education in parallel with free language courses of the language of the host country. As for the number of migrants most participants proposed the same ideas as in in number 2 above.
The EU for Global project is funded by the European Union through the CERV programme.