The Transnational Citizens Panel, held between the 2–4 April 2025, brought together voices from across Europe. Experts, activists, and everyday people discussed how shared democratic challenges play out differently — and sometimes similarly — across national borders. The topics of the Malta Transnational panel mirrored that of the Malta National panel and the discussions were structured around two main topics (i) Barriers to Participation and (ii) the notion of Democratic Participation — leading to the elaboration of recommendations on how the EU should enhance inclusive participation in the world.

Recommendations for Inclusive Participation

Making Democracy more accessible

• Ensure that electoral programmes are also published in simplified and multiple languages.
• Ensure that electoral programmes, voting and other democratic tools are accessible to persons with a disability and older persons who may be left behind
  from digitalisation.
• Work towards the inclusion of long-staying third-country nationals in local, national and EP elections.
• Ensure that youth groups and civil society actors are present and available in remote and isolated areas.

Increasing participation in elections

• Work toward the syncing of local, national and EP elections without provoking election fatigue.
• Ensure equal and transparent financial support for all political parties, including the smaller ones.

Digitalisation and social media

• Ensure that digitalisation is a tool that helps and not hinders democratic participation, such as an online tool to suggest proposals to local and central government.

Education and Awareness:

• Ensure strong educational curricula on civic engagement and democratic processes.
• Ensure that civic education includes a values component to teach empathy, solidarity and community belonging.
• Ensure that children and young people are aware of their rights and are able to express their wishes and problems they wish to address.

Empowering Communities

• Ensure the de-centralisation of power to local authorities and communities.
• Ensure that anti-discrimination legislation is enforced nationally in order to counter the discrimination that minority groups face daily and also in community and/or democratic participation.
• Ensure that safeguards are employed, and safety-nets exist for when minority groups exercise their rights.
• Ensure equal treatment, safety and protection of individuals and groups that organise and participate in demonstrations and protests.

An Engaging Civil Society

• Activists should be ready to question and hold governments to account, whilst also reaching out to political parties, politicians and MEPs to start a dialogue
  and give information of what is happening nationally on the ground.
• Civil society must give clear messaging and reach out to communities in a more effective manner in order to counter the anti-democratic movement, including
  with the use of social media and digitalisation.
• Ensure resources are available to civil society for them to be able to carry out their role in society more effectively.

Accountability of States and the European Union

• Introduce an independent system of monitoring of the European Parliament elections nationally, similar to the OSCE election monitoring missions.

The EU for Global project is funded by the European Union through the CERV programme.