Citizens' report handed over to the President of the Bundestag

On 19 March 2021, the Citizens' Assembly on "Germany's Role in the World" presented its proposals to the President of the German Bundestag, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, who was the patron of the process. On behalf of the 152 participants of the Citizens' Assembly who were drawn by lot, Tonja Buchholz and Michael Korth presented the 75-page report during a public handover ceremony at the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Berlin. In addition to some guiding principles on Germany's role in the world, the report also contains 32 specific recommendations on topics of peace and security, democracy and the rule of law, the EU, economy and trade and sustainability. These recommendations were voted on by the citizens in the last meeting of the Citizens' Assembly.

Bundestag Parliamentary Secretaries Michael Grosse-Brömer (CDU/CSU), Britta Haßelmann (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Jan Korte (Die Linke) and Bernd Baumann (AfD) as well as Members of Parliament Grigor Aggelidis (FDP) and Helge Lindh (SPD) were present for the ceremony via livestream. The citizens from all over Germany who participated in the Assembly were also present.

On the occasion of the handover, Bundestag President Schäuble said: "Democracy thrives on broad participation - and on responsible political decisions. The Citizens' Assembly has drawn up an assessment of our country's foreign and security policy. Their work was met with a high level of public interest. Now it is up to policymakers to address the recommendations on the table. I thank all those involved for their commitment and will do my utmost to ensure that the recommendations developed receive the attention they deserve in the parliamentary process."

"The Citizens' Assembly has answered the Bundestag's question about Germany's role, and now the ball is in the politicians' court. The success of a Citizens' Assembly depends on how its results are handled," explained Claudine Nierth, board spokeswoman for Mehr Demokratie, which initiated the Citizens' Assembly together with the initiative Es geht LOS. "In addition, we now have to evaluate this experience with a first digital Citizens' Assembly. We will also use the scientific evaluation of the process to further shape this promising tool of citizen participation. An important goal of this Citizens' Assembly was also to make recommendations on how parliamentary work can be supported through Citizens' Assemblies in the future."