Opinion article in EUobserver: The EU's strategic dialogues — are they just 'participation washing'?

💡 The European Commission’s Strategic Dialogues aim to involve stakeholders in key debates, from agriculture to the green transition. But are they truly inclusive, transparent and deliberative or just a box-ticking exercise?

Our consortium partners, Lea Schewe, Simon Otto and Sebastian Oberthür argue that these dialogues could be a game-changer for EU democracy, but only if the Commission fixes three critical flaws:

📍Corporate voices consistently dominate the discussions, sidelining NGOs, independent experts and the broader public interest. Meanwhile, meetings unfold behind closed doors with little transparency, no proper records, no public access, and no way to track how input shapes policy. Finally, many dialogues are performative listening exercises, with no space for genuine debate or meaningful exchange of ideas.

One exception: The 2024 Agriculture Dialogue which actually worked. So why isn’t the EU learning from it?

Read the article here