Democratic Odyssey live from Brussels “Democracy in Crisis – Should a Permanent Citizens’ assembly supplement the EU Parliament?”

A European Parliament – Democratic Odyssey Roundtable
📍 European Parliament, Brussels & Online
🗓️ Tuesday 14 October 2025 | 10:00 – 12:00

Recording:

REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE ON-SITE– Deadline: 9 Oct

REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE ONLINE

Dear friends!

In times of geopolitical turbulence and growing democratic challenges, Europe faces a crucial question: Should a Permanent European Citizens’ Assembly be established alongside the European Parliament?

On 14 October, Members of the European Parliament, EU officials, academics, and citizens will gather in Brussels to debate how citizens’ assemblies could strengthen Europe’s democratic fabric and shape the future of democratic innovation worldwide.

Co-organised by the European Parliament and Democratic Odyssey, this roundtable will reflect on the outcomes of a year-long democratic experiment across Europe and ask whether a new permanent institution could enrich and scrutinise parliamentary work. As part of the Democratic Odyssey, we at Europe Calling and Power to the People are proud to invite you to this crucial moment.

A Democratic Experiment Across Europe

The roundtable builds on the Democratic Odyssey’s pilot Assembly, which brought together 300 randomly selected citizens from across Europe and beyond in Athens, Florence, Vienna, and online. The Democratic Odyssey, was not an end in itself. Instead, it served as a pilot for what can become a permanent European Citizens Assembly that would meet alongside the European Parliament as a magnifying chamber providing input and scrutiny.

What lessons can we draw from this first part of the Odyssey’s journey? Who are the actors of change that will join this democratic journey? What do MEPs and other stakeholders think about this vision? What lessons from the ongoing Pollinators Assembly? This debate has already started through two critical e-book and the EA journal.

This event will debate these questions in synergy with the work of the AFCO Committee and the Spinelli Group in advocating structural, democratic change.

Event Highlights

• Reflections from MEPs and experts on the state of EU democracy.
• Presentation of the Democratic Odyssey pilot Assembly and its Citizens’ Charter.
• Debate on the feasibility, opportunities, and challenges of a Permanent European Citizens’ Assembly.

Key Participants

• Members of the European Parliament: Sandro Gozi, Brando Benifei, Daniel Freund, Damien Boeselager and Vice-President Victor Negrescu
• European Commission representatives: Mara Silva Almeida, leading police officer for the future of democracy project at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission
• Democratic Odyssey members: Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Yves Mathieu, Ophelie Masson and Berta Mizsei
• Citizens’ Council members, Djemila Boulasha and Theo Rizos
• Moderation: Maximilian Fries, Executive Director of Europe Calling

Practical Information

📅 Date: Tuesday 14 October 2025, 10:00–12:00
📍 Venue: European Parliament, ASP 5G1, Brussels & Online
👥 Participants: Approx. 30–50, including MEPs, EU officials, citizens, and civil society stakeholders

If you are unable to attend in person at this time, please register for online participation to receive the link to the recording.

REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE ON-SITE (External link)
REGISTER HERE TO PARTICIPATE ONLINE 

See you in Brussels and online!

Best,

Max and everyone at Europe Calling, and on behalf of the Power to the People Group