For a Democratic Wave

Ahead of the 2024 European elections, Democracy International and the Federation for Innovation in Democracy – Europe (FIDE) launched For a Democratic Wave: a campaign calling on candidates for the European Parliament to become champions for a stronger, more participatory European democracy.

At a time of democratic backsliding and growing pressure on democratic values across Europe, the campaign put citizen participation at the heart of the political debate. Candidates were invited to sign a pledge committing themselves to strengthening democratic participation in the European Union during the 2024–2029 parliamentary term.

Putting citizen participation on the European agenda

European democracy cannot thrive through elections alone. People need meaningful opportunities to influence political decisions throughout the democratic process.

Building on experiences such as the Conference on the Future of Europe, the European Citizens’ Panels and the European Citizens’ Initiative, For a Democratic Wave called on the next European Parliament to take the next step towards a more responsive, inclusive and citizen-centred European Union.

Candidates signing the Democratic Wave pledge committed themselves to four priorities:

• strengthening existing EU participation instruments, including the European Citizens’ Initiative and European Citizens’ Panels, and increasing their political impact;
• ensuring strong quality standards and sufficient resources for meaningful citizen participation;
• strengthening the European Parliament’s role in promoting and supporting participatory democracy across the EU;
• supporting the creation of the first parliamentary Intergroup on European Democracy.

At the same time, Democracy International and FIDE brought together civil society organisations from across Europe through an open letter calling on candidates to make democratic reform a priority of the new parliamentary term.

From election campaign to parliamentary advocacy

The campaign generated significant support across Europe. 368 candidates for the European Parliament signed the Democratic Wave pledge, while more than 50 civil society organisations endorsed the campaign’s open letter. Following the European elections, 32 pledge signatories entered the European Parliament.

The campaign continued beyond election day. Together with a growing coalition of civil society organisations and supportive Members of the European Parliament, Democracy International and FIDE advocated for the creation of a dedicated Intergroup on Democracy in the new Parliament.

The proposal gained cross-party support and received 108 votes from Members of the European Parliament. Although it ultimately narrowly missed recognition as one of the Parliament’s official intergroups, the campaign succeeded in building a broad network of parliamentarians and civil society organisations committed to keeping citizen participation and democratic reform high on the European political agenda.

For a Democratic Wave demonstrated that strengthening European democracy is not only about defending existing institutions. It is also about creating new and meaningful opportunities for people to shape the decisions that affect them.

Our partners

Democracy International e.V.
Federation for Innovation in Democracy – Europe (FIDE)

The campaign was supported by a broad coalition of democracy and civil society organisations from across Europe.

Visit the campaign website: democraticwave.eu