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Each cohort is organised into small multidisciplinary teams (each of some 7-9 Scholars) with the challenge to produce at the end of the programme a project that will “make Europe a better place”. The group reports are evaluated initially by a set of external assessors straddling the worlds of academia and public policy and are then presented to a major international conference.

The works below are available under licence. For details of different licences, please refer to the Creative Commons examples

Portal2EU
Cohort 3, 2022/23

Group members: Hasan Akintug, Jan Farfal, Florence Felsheim, Carolina Gerli, Nathalie Koubayova, Cyprian Liske, Claudia Negri Ribalta, Keith Prushankin, Kseniia Soloveva

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‘Have Your Say’ (‘HYS’ or ‘Platform’) was introduced by the EU in 2015 to deepen its democratic legitimacy and enhance public participation. The Platform provides an opportunity for European citizens to engage in policymaking that impacts them. Although HYS remains a frontrunner in the use of public consultations (OECD, 2021), there are certain challenges that impede wider citizen engagement. To determine its impact on public engagement, the project team Portal2EU conducted an in-depth examination and evaluation of HYS, revealing three key dimensions in which it can be improved: accessibility, transparency, and outreach.

Policy brief (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)
Policy Report (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)

LevelUP
Cohort 3, 2022/23

Group members: Iris Jugo Núñez-Hoyo (Complutense University Madrid), Jens Meijen (KU Leuven), Johanna Jaschik (University of Luxembourg), Lena Riecke (Leiden University), Marie Martine (University of Oxford), Saşo Gorjanc (University of St Andrews), Savannah-Rivka Powell (University of Tartu), Sophie Veriter (Leiden University), Toine Paulissen (KU Leuven)

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EU citizens and communities feel disconnected from policy makers and institutions. 92% of EU citizens want their voices to be better taken into account by the EU. 65% feel like they cannot make a difference in politics. Yet a healthy, robust, and resilient democracy is the cornerstone of EU legitimacy and unity. Recently, the European Commission has sought to address this democratic deficit by launching European Citizens’ Panels (ECPs). Still, EU citizens fear being left behind. Clearly, old approaches are not working. Democracy in the EU is in need of renewal. Our project provides an original method for levelling up participatory and deliberative democracy through gamification. Thereby, we make it more inclusive, effective, and –importantly– fun. Based on extensive research and tested during two pilot projects, our method consists of a detailed Toolkit that offers step-by-step guidance for conducting democratic consultations. In our policy recommendations, we illustrate how our Toolkit could be applied in one specific context: to improve ECPs and help them to achieve their full potential. Beyond ECPs, our Toolkit can be used to innovate and strengthen democratic deliberations more broadly, whether initiated by citizens, communities, or institutions. For more information visit us on our website.

Policy brief (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)
Policy Report (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)

Empowered
Cohort 3, 2022/23

Unleashing the Potential of Renewable Energy Communities in Rural Europe

Group members: Caroline Bertram, Jonathan Brousseau, Sebastien Fassiaux, Gina Haubner, Isabel Oakes, Ann-Katrien Oimann, Alix Ricau, Viktor Salenius, Lucia van der Meulen

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Unleashing the Potential of Renewable Energy Communities in Rural Europe.
The European Union is aiming to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with an intermediate goal of a 55% reduction in net emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Furthermore, it is revising its objectives for renewable energy to attain a 42.5% (with the intention to reach 45%) share of renewable energy sources in its energy mix by 2030, up from the current 32% target. To achieve these objectives, the European Commission is championing Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), which are community-driven entities dedicated to the production and supply of renewable energy. Currently, only 2 million EU citizens are involved in a REC, representing 9,252 RECs across the different Member States in 2022, 50% of which are located in Germany. However, research shows that, if fully unleashed, the potential of RECs could cover half of the EU’s renewable energy production and involve 264 million citizens by 2050. Currently, the number of RECs in the EU therefore has yet to reach its full potential, with their share in the energy mix and electricity consumed remaining low. Research and data show that this is due to (i) a lack of awareness of the existence and functioning of RECs; (ii) complexities in sourcing the financial resources and legal and technical expertise necessary to create and manage RECs; and (iii) fragmentation in the transposition and implementation of EU directives across Member States.
In light of the climate emergency and the EU’s commitment to mitigate its effects, this project highlights the potential of RECs as a pivotal instrument for enabling a just energy transition. It proposes a user-based matchmaking platform designed to foster collaboration between REC stakeholders across Europe. The proposal comprises the following sections: (1) an explanation of RECs’ benefits and potential; (2) why RECs are not currently fulfilling this potential and how a user-based matchmaking platform would help to realise it; (3) a detailed policy recommendation for implementing the online platform; and (4) a pilot design of this platform, considering the discussed benefits and challenges of RECs.

Policy Brief (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)
Policy Report (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)

Fairfields

FairFields
Cohort 3, 2022/23

Cultivating Justice for Europe’s Agricultural Workers

Group members: Stephanie Arnold, Alessia Aspide, Nil Barutel, Rose Campion, Iris del Pino García Saavedra, Hadil Louz, Claudia Mara, Bradley Reynolds, Alena Zelenskaia

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Cultivating Justice for Europe’s Agricultural Workers.
The FairFields project offers a comprehensive set of policy recommendations aimed at advancing fair working and living conditions for agricultural workers through rural development. While agricultural workers represent the core workforce in rural areas, current European rural development strategies tend to overlook their significance. The proposed recommendations target stakeholders at various levels, including the EU, national, regional, and local levels. They place Local Action Groups (LAGs) at the forefront of EU rural development, to enhance services for workers and bolster social dialogue within the agricultural sector. Additionally, the project innovatively adapts existing institutional structures such as the Rural Pact Platform to foster collaboration among key rural and labour actors.

Policy brief (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)
Policy Report (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)

Energy Poverty
Cohort 1, 2018/19

Reconnecting Citizens: European Solutions to Energy Poverty

Group members: Ioannis Asimakopoulos, Caroline Damgaard, Manuel Dorion-Soulié, Cristina Güerri Ferrandez, Franziska Hobmaier, Luis Santos, Elisa Schramm, Igor Tkalec

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Reconnecting Citizens: European Solutions to Energy Poverty
Over 57 million people throughout Europe live in energy poverty, meaning that they cannot meet their fundamental energy needs such as heating, cooling, cooking and lighting, at an affordable cost. Hitherto, the EU and Member States have tackled the issue in a fragmented manner. This project explains why the EU must tackle energy poverty comprehensively, provides analysis of existing policy measures, and develops recommendations for a European energy poverty policy. We conducted data-driven analysis of existing policy measures at the national and EU level, and fieldwork with local initiatives tackling energy poverty. We conclude that energy poverty is a preventable social problem, and that the EU can contribute more to alleviate the harm it causes to individuals and societies. Our recommendations are: (1) Prohibiting power disconnections for vulnerable households; (2) Creating mechanisms to identify vulnerable households; and (3) Expanding EU funding for local initiatives.

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Policy brief (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)
Policy Report (sharing licence CC BY-NC-ND)

Europe, Listen and Respond
Cohort 1, 2018/19

Group members: Bernard Bernards, Felix Biermann, Jennifer Garcia Carrizo, Timothy Glover, Daniel Gołębiowski, Gerard Llorens deCesaris, Giulia Raimondo

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The recent history of the European Union is a story of increasing public distrust, dissatisfaction, and disengagement from EU institutions. The Euro and migration crises have compounded public discontent with EU policy results and processes. In the Brexit campaign, terms like ‘sovereignty’ and ‘take back control’ highlighted the perception that EU institutions do not adequately represent the public. Many believe the EU is run by technocratic elites who form policies without heeding to citizens’ perspectives, and that ‘Brussels is only talking to Brussels’.
To restore public trust in EU institutions, citizens must be involved in the policymaking process. One avenue is public consultation. Public consultation enables citizens to voice their opinions on proposed policy and increases their trust in democratic processes. It obliges EU institutions to be transparent and accountable regarding how public opinion influences policy and incorporate diverse views in the decision-making. Furthermore, online public consultation, at low cost and with low barriers to access, makes citizen engagement more efficient and inclusive.
Some of the group’s key findings were presented (by invitation of the OSCE-Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) in Venice (Italy) on December 5th 2019 under the title “Responsiveness and Recognition in Public Consultations”, in the expert roundtable discussion “DEMOCRATIC LAW-MAKING AND PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS: THE THEORY AND REALITIES FROM THE OSCE REGION” organized by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law.

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Policy brief (sharing licence CC BY NC ND)
Conference presentation (sharing licence CC BY NC ND)

InclusivEU: Encouraging diversity in EU Institutions
Cohort 2, 2020/21

Group members: Ashlee Beazley, Eduardo García Cancela, Riccardo Nanni, Thalia Ostendorf, Elena Porter, Lewin Schmitt, Inga Steinberg, Mariana Vega Martinho,  Sue Anne Teo

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Although it boasts a workforce of over 32,000 civil servants, the European Commission continues to suffer from a diversity gap when it comes to the representativeness of its workforce. While progress has been made in recent years to address the lack of representation of historically underrepresented groups by increasing the participation of women in middle and senior management roles and to improve access for people with disabilities, the inclusion of groups such as ethnic and racial minorities remains a challenge. Online campaigns such as #BrusselsSoWhite bought the issue to the forefront, emphasising that there has not been a single European Commissioner of colour to date. People of ethnic and/or racial minorities are also visibly underrepresented in the Commission workforce. President Ursula von der Leyen underscored the urgency of addressing the issue during her speech at the European Anti-Racism summit in March 2021, calling on the Commission to lead by example by bringing Europe’s diversity into the civil service.

The current lack of diversity is problematic for many reasons, ranging from the unfulfilled potential arising from the exclusion of valuable experiences and perspectives in the policy-making process to issues of justice and representativeness. Given the importance of EU institutions in creating and implementing public policy across the Member States, the institutions have a responsibility to strive for maximum representation and inclusivity. This project both highlights the challenges and obstacles that contribute to the Commission’s diversity gap and proposes concrete actions to address them.

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Lost in transition
Cohort 2, 2020/21

Charting a Course for Europe’s Automotive Industry Workers

Group members: Kateřina Chadmiová, Alex Clark, Joshua Hill, António Leitão Amaro, Chiara Lovotti, Frederik Forrai Ørskov, Nils Renard, Christoph Semken, Peeter Vihma.

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Lost in Transition?
Charting a Course for Europe’s Automotive Industry Workers

Our project crafts a policy response to the impact of rapid structural change on workers in Europe’s carbon-intensive industries, triggered by the green transition in Europe and the corresponding need to decarbonise domestic economic activity and associated value chains. This inevitable process has been accelerated by European Green Deal recovery policies adopted in response to the coronavirus crisis. Our project complements the renewed emphasis on European initiatives to promote a greener economy, with a focus on those most affected by the upheaval facing traditional automotive manufacturing. While the green transition enjoys substantial political support, it is also a source of great concern for groups of workers in vulnerable sub-sectors, and for their suppliers. Opposition to green policies has been seen among workers at risk of losing their jobs who also face difficulties in adapting to the new green economy. Failing to address these ‘just transition’ issues may pose a danger to the transition itself, with catastrophic consequences for the European public.
This project identifies opportunities for supporting those at risk of being left behind, and for bringing companies large and small, trade unions, and workers together. We choose to focus on the automotive industry, which is expected to accelerate its transition in the coming years. It is also structurally different to other industries subject to ‘just transition’ measures, notably coal, requiring a different set of policies that may also be transferable to other sectors. By giving companies a more active role in articulating their transition needs, and establishing new institutions modelled on similar attempts to address just transition issues elsewhere, this project proposes a possible model for other sectors to transition. It blends contemporary thinking on the just transition contributed by trade unions, with reflection on the social role of companies (across the value chain) in driving and guiding the transition, while taking into account the current economic and political context.

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Making Room for Mental Health: Bloom Box
Cohort 2, 2020/21

Group members: Tuukka Brunila, Silke Creten, Ilana Hartikainen, Antonia Markiewitz, Arron McArdle, Ariadna Petri, Irene Soriano Florez, Zea Szebeni

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European Society and the world of work seem destined for change. With a global health crisis coupled with the inevitability of green and digital transitions, thoughts turn to how societies will adjust, and continue to develop in the future. Yet, a question that has escaped the minds of EU and national policymakers alike is one of mental and social preparedness. A transitioning Europe must mean a prepared and anticipative Europe, a Europe which recognises the value of future-thinking approaches to crucial policy areas such as mental health and social welfare. As European societies respond to longer term challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment, for young people in particular, has the potential to cause a lifetime of mental health problems. Before the pandemic, 1 in 6 Europeans suffered from poor mental health during their lives, costing Member States approximately 500 billion Euros, an estimated 4% of their GDPs. Mental health and unemployment are bidirectionally linked, in that mental health problems both increase the difficulty of finding and keeping a job and arise from unemployment. This project suggests innovative yet tenable solutions as to how both the EU and its Member States could and should react to the imminent mental health issues relating to youth unemployment including the ‘Bloom Box’: a toolbox to be sent to all youths when they register as unemployed and which is designed to help them manage the unemployment period. It helps youth reclaim their agency and ward off psychological distress around unemployment in a time of hardship.

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Unmute the Youth!
Cohort 2, 2020/21

The winning team in 2021!

Group members:  Alessandro Ambrosino, Simon Cecchin Birk, Cerni Escalé, Carlotta Mingardi, Georgios Nikolou, Lukas Spielberger, Elodie Thevenin, Alice Trinkle

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The winning team in 2021!

Democracy seems to be no longer in vogue. Not only are democratic values eroding but authoritarian ones are also increasing, especially among the young. Despite efforts by the European Commission and national governments to increase youth engagement, today young people are more disconnected from the democratic process than older generations. The Covid-19 pandemic appears as a critical juncture in the history of Europe after a period of crises. Therefore, we believe that now is the time to act to bring back the youth. Our objective is to bring young Europeans back into the fold by offering online democratic participation tools that they would be willing to use. This will, we hope, help unmute the youth!
Young Europeans aged 16 to 26 merit particular attention for several further reasons. They have been hit especially hard by the current pandemic in educational, employment and mental health terms. As their prospects have worsened, they still tend to ignore traditional political channels and prefer protesting populist parties to traditional ones. Given that the youngest are digitally active, online is where the bridges to the young need to be built. However, if we are to reach them through digital platforms these have to account for their distinctive characteristics such as their shorter attention filter and high expectations with regards to interfaces.
We hope our recommendations will help to foster a new ethos of political participation among the youth and thereby strengthen the underbelly of liberal democracy. They are based on 1) a review of the literature on the habits of the young, deliberative democracy and the existing participatory online platforms; 2) an exploratory survey across three European municipalities (Krakow, Leiden, Trieste) to identify the most salient reasons of disengagement; and 3) interviews with experts who have developed successful online tools of public deliberation and decision-making.

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Voices of Europe
Cohort 1, 2018/19

Disconnected European citizens

Group members: Céléste Bonnamy, Maximilian Kiener, Ana Martins, Antonia Niehuss, Andrei Petre, Rafael Ruiz Andrés, Ana Wennäkoski, Tamara Fröhler (first year only)

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This project focuses on the ways in which European citizens have become disconnected to the European Union or a European political project more generally. It aims to understand the variety of disconnections and reflect on how to overcome them, thereby leading to a more inclusive and participatory European political project. The project members conducted 16 qualitative interviews with individuals across different countries to identify factors that cause (a feeling of) disconnection from Europe (e.g. socio-economic background, generational divides, cultural and religious affiliation) as well as reflected on related themes in eight essays that will form the basis of a book publication. Finally, in order to overcome disconnections and improve the current state of the European Union, the project members proposed a reform of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) that strengthens the role of the European Parliament.

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You & EU
Cohort 1, 2018/19

Increasing the legitimacy of the European Union
THE WINNING TEAM OF 2019! They are currently trying to decide how best to spend the €10,000 given as prize money by the Financial Times!

Group Members: Frederik Behre, Thomas Gidney, Mladen Grgic, Stephanie Haywood, Laura Nordström, Anna Simbartlová (Lukesová), Claudia Hartman (first year only).

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You&EU is a social media campaign that encouraged young people to participate in the 2019 European Parliament elections. Motivated by the continued decline in voter turnout from 1972 to 2014, we illustrated the impact of specific EU policies on people’s daily lives in an accessible and engaging way. We designed, produced and disseminated a variety of content across our Facebook, Instagram and Website, including blogs, posts, and a video series. This material informed voters of the European Parliament’s function and impact, how they could vote, and why they should vote in the 2019 elections. Across these platforms, we reached nearly400,000 people with our message: ‘The EU impacts your life, so have a say in how’.
After winning the FT-sponsored prize of €10,000, You&EU will now organise a ‘Campaigner’s Summit’ for other similar campaigns. This event will enable knowledge exchange and develop a sustainable network to support future collaboration.

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The group can be contacted on youandeu2019@gmail.com

Their website is https://www.youandeu.com/