Reshaping European Democracy

Democracy has not gone out of fashion, but it must update itself in order to keep improving people’s lives.

—David Sassoli, former president of the European Parliament

Ursula von der Leyen quoted the above words in a speech at the closing event of the Conference on the Future of Europe, on 9 May 2022. A few months later, in her State of the Union Address, she spoke of citizens’ panels and predicted that they will become ‘a regular feature of our democratic life.