Reducing EU citizens’ frustration by giving them a voice in the EU institutions – European Commissioner for the Voice of Citizens
2.2.2022
Question for written answer E-000434/2022/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 138
Ivan Štefanec (PPE), Peter Pollák (PPE)
The Conference on the Future of Europe ends in mid-2022. Given that EU citizens are willing to be continuously involved in political decisions, there is a need to empower them so that they can call on the EU institutions to take action at their request on important EU policy areas. This could be made possible by creating a new position in the Commission, a Citizens’ Voice portfolio[1].
Would it be possible to create such a position in the College of Commissioners, to be occupied by an expert with an NGO-related background, with the task of directly reflecting citizens’ expectations?
Could the Commission use the future European Digital Identity to provide EU citizens with a digital platform for contacting the Commission, in a similar way to MEPs’ written questions[2], but via the newly created Commissioner position?
Would the Commission consider allowing EU citizens to use their European Digital Identity to submit written questions via a dedicated platform via which they can collect supporters? The selection process for the relevant questions to be asked would rely on the questioners’ competencies and geographical location. Using big data, machine learning and AI, this platform could provide updates for key stakeholders about citizens’ expectations and civic and political trends, which would be useful for addressing the challenges facing citizens.