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<CENTER><BIG><I>This is part of a series of 6-weekly emails written by WeMove
Europe’s Director sharing stories and insight into what the heck we're trying to
do and where each of us fits in. There is no call to action and no donation ask.
Just a story.</I></BIG></CENTER>
<P> </P>
<P><BIG>Hi,</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>The image of Donald Trump on a golf course refusing to concede election
defeat got me thinking. It served as a blunt reminder of just how much power
certain leaders hold on to. Admittedly the US is not the only place where abuse
of power has gotten out of control in recent times. When I think of Europe in
the last weeks, a far less publicised image comes to mind.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>It is that of David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament.
We were so shocked by his decision last month to bring forward a key vote on the
future of agricultural subsidies by one day. It sounds like no big deal - who
cares, right? But it was about how €60 billion of agricultural subsidies would
be spent each year. The date change confused the whole vote, leading to
allegations that the powerful agribusiness lobby played a role. [1] The result
was <STRONG>a vote that totally undermined the EU’s commitment to climate
action</STRONG> and has led to calls from Fridays for Future to
<STRONG>#withdrawthecap</STRONG>. [2] <STRONG>If such last-minute tricks can be
allowed, where is people power? What say do we have over Europe’s most expensive
cash distribution system, within which the most money goes to those with the
most hectares of land?</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Another image is of our partner Emma from the Debt Observatory in
Globalisation in Spain. She is shaking her head and explaining to me that up to
now, there is no way to find out how literally billions of euros of post-COVID
EU recovery funds will be spent in Spain. This is not a Spanish story.
<STRONG>Right now, activists and movements in Spain and all over Europe are
fighting to influence how that money is spent to make sure the transition after
COVID is truly green and truly just.</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG><STRONG>So where is people power in Europe right now? My view is this:
we still need a heck of a lot more of it. </STRONG>People turning up to vote
every 4-5 years is not enough for democracy to work. In his short and brilliant
book called 'Against Elections' David Van Reybrouck points out that we need
other ways to get involved in what happens between elections.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG><STRONG>This is precisely why WeMove Europe exists - to ensure people in
Europe know what is happening, and to ensure we can find ways together to drive
Europe towards a positive future. </STRONG>We do this via all kinds of actions,
starting with the petition, which signals what people care about and followed up
with demonstrations (when we can), twitter storms, poster actions, direct
emails, direct calls to or meetings with decision makers.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>But we still need way more ways to be drivers of change beyond what
organisations like WeMove Europe can do. <STRONG>Right now, there is one I’m
really curious about: Citizens' Assemblies</STRONG> have been a bit of a nerdy
topic so far but they are starting to kick ass where it matters and may be about
to hit the mainstream. </BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Where I come from, in Ireland, Citizens' Assemblies have been held on
some of the most controversial topics of our time: gay marriage, abortion and
climate change. The one on abortion hit me pretty hard because it's the issue
that has polarised my country for as long as I can remember. In 2016, the Irish
parliament set up a Citizens' Assembly on abortion before the referendum on the
same issue. They randomly-selected 99 people, through using criteria to make the
group more demographically representative. <STRONG>Those people spent five
weekends listening to presentations from both sides of the debate and then ...
drumroll... they got to talk about it. Imagine. They listened, shared,
disagreed, changed their opinion or stuck to them. They deliberated.</STRONG>
64% of the participants ultimately voted for no restrictions in early pregnancy.
[3] It led to the Prime Minister publicly changing his view on abortion. Some
felt the Citizens' Assembly was out of touch. But the subsequent referendum saw
66% voting in favour of removing the restrictions. This experience and the
others on gay marriage and climate have been massive for Ireland, for our
democracy and our identity.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>Meanwhile in France, a recent Citizens' Assembly on climate change led
to 149 creative and exceptional recommendations, 146 of which Macron has pledged
to fight for. One of those is about making ‘ecocide’, or the destruction of
nature, a punishable crime - which is about time. Another is about putting
climate goals in the Constitution. [4] <STRONG>Imagine how this could lock in
positive change and thumb its nose at electoral cycles and changing political
priorities?</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG>We are interested in this because <STRONG>right now activists all over
Europe are excited about the potential of Citizens' Assemblies. </STRONG>A
climate assembly is one of Extinction Rebellion’s three main demands - they
understand the need to improve democracy in order to combat climate change.
Citizens' Assemblies are already planned in Spain, Denmark, Germany and Scotland
(though lockdowns have slowed things down). Cities across Poland are doing the
same thing. And the German-speaking Community in Belgium has gone further than
anyone else to make them an official part of the state decision making
system.</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>So, what if we brought this to the European level? What could that mean
for discussions of climate change, where that particularly large challenge knows
no borders? What could it bring to debate over CAP subsidies, that has been
raging for decades almost entirely without citizen voices? Or maybe, just maybe,
on the future of the European Union? <STRONG>The US election saw millions of
Europeans glued to their screens for updates. Could a Citizens' Assembly help
make things a bit more real and draw Europeans closer to
Europe?</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG>One thing is for sure: at a time of fake news, conspiracy and rising
polarisation, it would be pretty handy to have <STRONG>a place to bring people
together to hear each other out, to discuss and deliberate. The conversation
can’t just happen on Twitter.</STRONG></BIG></P>
<P><BIG>What we want to know is this: are you as excited about the potential of
Citizens' Assemblies as we are? Should we be campaigning for a Citizens'
Assembly on climate on the European level?</BIG></P>
<P><BIG>With hope,<BR>Laura Sullivan, Executive Director of WeMove
Europe</BIG></P>
<P> </P>
<P><SMALL>References:<BR>[1]
https:<SPAN>//www.birdlife</SPAN>.org/europe-and-central-asia/news/press-release-european-parliament-kill-nature-CAP-22Oct2020<BR>[2]
https:<SPAN>//twitter</SPAN>.com/Fridays4future/status/1320258903695781888?s=03<BR>[3]
https:<SPAN>//www.bbc</SPAN>.com/news/world-europe-39687584<BR>[4]
https:<SPAN>//www.sciencemag</SPAN>.org/news/2020/10/jury-duty-global-warming-citizen-groups-help-solve-puzzle-climate-action</SMALL></P>
<P> </P>
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<DIV><B>From:</B> <A title=info@wemove.eu href="mailto:info@wemove.eu">Laura
Sullivan - WeMove Europe</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Friday, November 13, 2020 5:14 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Democracy is more than elections</DIV></DIV>
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