Citizens' Assembly "Germany's Role in the World" adopts recommendations
The Citizens' Assembly "Germany's Role in the World" under the patronage of President of the Bundestag Wolfgang Schäuble will decide its recommendations on foreign policy on Saturday (20 February). After 50 hours of deliberations, citizens who were randomly drawn from all over Germany for the Citizens' Assembly will decide on their recommendations to the Bundestag and the German government.
Since January 13, people with very different backgrounds have discussed various topics with the help of 44 experts and under professional moderation. The overarching themes were sustainable development, economy and trade, peace and security, democracy and the rule of law, and the European Union.
The Citizens' Assembly is deliberating on "Germany's Role in the World," following a request by the Bundestag's Council of Elders last June. In addition to dealing with German foreign policy, the goal is also to explore whether citizens' assemblies are a useful instrument to support parliamentary work in general and to develop a format that is suitable for Germany's conditions at the federal level.
The Citizens' Assembly was initiated by the association "Mehr Demokratie" and the initiative "Es geht LOS". It is run by the associated companies IFOK, IPG and Nexus. Since its launch, 15 of the original 169 participants have unfortunately had to leave the Citizens' Assembly because of time or health reasons, so that the total number of participants at present is 154. The final recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly will be announced around 16h30 on 20 February.