European Commissions citizen panel for new budget
Digidem Lab supports the European Commission's citizen panel regarding EU:s new budget.
During the spring, Digidem Lab, on behalf of the European Commission, carried out a random selection process to send five Swedish citizens to Brussels to participate in a citizens’ panel that gathered 150 EU citizens from 27 countries to develop recommendations on the question: “What should the EU spend money on to improve our common future?”
In 2025, the Commission will present a proposal for a new long-term European budget that will take effect in 2028. This budget will then be decided upon by the European Parliament and the Member States. Before that, 150 randomly selected EU citizens from 27 EU countries have had the opportunity to influence the proposal by participating in a citizens’ panel over three weekends between March and May.
The panel began with an in-person weekend meeting in Brussels in March. There, the 150 individuals were divided into working groups to develop recommendations on how the EU should allocate funds to improve our common future. In April, the groups deepened their recommendations through online meetings, and in May, all 150 participants met again in Brussels to finalize and deliver their recommendations to the European Commission. Together, they agreed on a number of political priorities aimed at shaping future EU funding and upcoming Commission initiatives, with the goal of ensuring that the EU budget responds to changing global conditions and improves quality of life across Europe. The recommendations will serve as a basis for the new proposal for a long-term European budget.
This spring’s citizens’ panel was the first of three planned by the European Commission during 2025–2026, and Digidem Lab is responsible for conducting the random selection process in Sweden for all three panels. This means that during the spring, we coordinated the recruitment of interested citizens from five randomly selected locations in Sweden: Gothenburg, Uppsala, Upplands-Bro, Upplands Väsby, and Ulricehamn, from which one individual from each location was selected by lottery. This ensures that participants are chosen fairly and that the group is representative of Sweden’s population. Five individuals have contributed to shaping EU policy, received paid travel to Brussels, compensation for their participation, and the opportunity to meet people from 27 different countries.
The second of the European Commission’s three citizens’ panels will focus on intergenerational fairness and will take place in the autumn of 2025. Digidem Lab is conducting the random selection process in Sweden over the summer. Stay tuned for updates about this upcoming citizens’ panel!
(Image source: European Citizens’ Panel on the New EU Budget)
