Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Beyond the ‘Brussels bubble’

Luke Cooper, Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz and Niccolò Milanese 9th May 2021

The Conference on the Future of Europe needs to engage to the full the diversity and dynamism of European civil society.

European civil society
Luke Cooper

‘Europe has no demos’. Criticisms of the project of European integration have long been premised on this canard. If the demos refers to the existence of common bonds that create a sense of shared identity and purpose, its absence at the level of the European Union was held to represent a fundamental problem for a project based on the ‘pooling’ of sovereignty.

Without such a European populace, it was argued, there could never be a European ‘state’, even ‘quasi-state’, at all. This critique was not without merit, but it begged a question: did the sought-for European demos have to look like what we have become accustomed to in our national democracies?

European civil society
Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz

For example, should we expect the European demos to be centred on a capital city? If so, then actually an embryonic European public sphere has arguably long existed in Brussels, in what is caustically called the ‘Brussels bubble’, with institutionalised civil-society organisations representing national chapters and networks and seeking change in the European institutions and influence among political elites and media. Over decades the European institutions themselves have promoted this public sphere, by funding civil-society partners and entering dialogue with them.

The past decade of multiple crises, starting from the 2008 financial crash, has however shown the limits and disconnectedness of this Brussels-centric vision. At the same time a very different geography of civil society has emerged, perhaps revealing a richer and more dynamic European public sphere.

European civil society
Niccolò Milanese

‘Europeanisation’ of civil society

In a report for LSE IDEAS, The Rise of Insurgent Europeanism, we present the findings of a mapping project we conducted between 2018 and 2020. It explores the priorities and initiatives of civil-society movements and how they are interacting with politics. Our findings reveal a ‘Europeanisation’ of civil society. This is giving rise to a European demos, which is rooted in local grassroots movements but sees change at an EU scale as a priority.

As with the conventional, Brussels-based public sphere, the incentives and impetus for this Europeanisation reflect the institutional and political dynamics of integration. Changes at the supranational level are now seen as essential to the success of reform initiatives at the national and local and regional levels.

Crises have played an important role in bringing this shift about. The need for reform of the eurozone, for a humanitarian solution to the ‘refugee crisis’ and collaboration on climate change have all spurred movements to seek reform at the European level as an integral part of policy action in a multi-level governance.

Different ways

Analysing the organisations and movements in our mapping study, we distinguished three different ways of thinking about the EU: ‘traditional’, ‘instrumental’ and ‘insurgent’ Europeanists. Traditional Europeanists tend to be closely related to the Brussels-centred public sphere. They see their role as communicating the benefits of European integration to the public while seeking proactive democratic and constitutional reforms to advance the project.

The two latter groups are more novel and reflect the changes of the past decade. Instrumental Europeanists see changes at EU level as necessary to achieve their goals at the national level. They do not see an EU exit—especially in light of the ‘Brexit’ experience—as desirable or necessary to these goals. But neither are they evangelists for the current model of integration. Theirs is a pragmatic Europeanism. Refugee-rescue operations or environmental movements, which are networking at the European level, are an example of this trend.

Insurgent Europeanism, by contrast, seeks to create pressure and momentum for the re-forging and transformation of the European project itself. It comprises civil-society actors and ‘pop-up’ social-movement parties which have emerged from this public sphere. The mentality is typified by the creation and recent electoral success of the pan-European party, Volt. In practice, groups and individuals may often combine elements of these different mindsets—seeing their efforts as insurgent yet also pragmatic, for example.

Long shadow

Civil society should, in principle, be enjoying a rare moment at the centre-stage of European politics. The Conference on the Future of Europe initiated by the European institutions has been heralded as an ‘an unprecedented, open and inclusive exercise in deliberative democracy’.

The last time the EU engaged in such an initiative was at the turn of the millennium. The then Convention on the Future of Europe influenced the aborted European constitution and its successor, the Lisbon treaty.

This history casts a long shadow over the conference just beginning. It sets high expectations for substantive outcomes, which a number of member states are reluctant to see, and brings back painful memories of the French and Dutch referenda in 2005, in which the proposed new constitution was narrowly rejected. ‘Don’t mention the T word’—forget treaty change—has become a maxim of many in Brussels.

As a result, the conference could become a tokenistic exercise—a talking-shop at best. Moreover, it could easily become a narrow, Brussels-based conversation which does not reflect Europe’s new civic energies.

Our findings provide a basis on which to evaluate the conference: has it successfully drawn Europe’s new civil-society movements into dialogue with the EU institutions? Does the conference interact with the most urgent debates across the continent? Does it engage a wide and diverse range of people affected by these social, political and environmental issues—or only those already close to the Brussels bubble?

Not encouraging

Early signs from the platform of the conference and the criteria for randomly selecting participants for the ‘citizens’ panels’, feeding ideas to the plenary, are not encouraging. The criteria under discussion are age, country, gender, education and socioeconomic status. While this may bring some diversity to the discussions, it will not ensure the participation of members of racialised groups or LGBT+ communities or people with disabilities or ensure a diversity of attitudes to the EU—especially given those with critical attitudes are most likely to decline invitations.

Beyond the citizens’ panels, which are no panacea no matter how they are designed, the plans for meaningful involvement of civil society in the conference are weak. Indicative is that the executive board which takes the political decisions concerning the conference includes representatives of BusinessEurope and the European Trade Union Congress, but no civil-society representative—despite repeated calls for this from civil society and the European Parliament.

After a year of negotiations over the personalities to run the conference and great nervousness about allowing citizens any effective involvement in the conversation, there is a strong sense that inertia and institutional blockages risk combining into failure and a missed opportunity. Meanwhile, the real conversation and debate would be going on elsewhere.

If this is the case, any initiative for renewing the EU will likely come from the margins. It might include civil society mobilising on the edges of the conference, academics reflecting on its proceedings and journalists pointing to its shortcomings. The most dynamic parts of European civil society are likely to exercise realism and not focus their efforts exclusively on the conference—but, rather, seek to engage strategically with those ‘inside’ who may be most open to transforming European democracy, while constantly seeking to open up the conversation to a diversity of citizens and residents.

Luke Cooper, Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz and Niccolò Milanese

Luke Cooper is a consultant researcher in the Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit at the London School of Economics. Roch Dunin-Wąsowicz lectures in sociology at University College London's Social Research Institute and researches European civil society at the foreign-policy think tank LSE IDEAS. Niccolò Milanese is director of European Alternatives.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u4219834664e04a 8a1e 4ee0 a6f9 bbc30a79d0b1 2 Closing the Chasm: Central and Eastern Europe’s Continued Minimum Wage ClimbCarlos Vacas-Soriano and Christine Aumayr-Pintar
u421983467f bb39 37d5862ca0d5 0 Ending Britain’s “Brief Encounter” with BrexitStefan Stern
u421983485 2 The Future of American Soft PowerJoseph S. Nye
u4219834676d582029 038f 486a 8c2b fe32db91c9b0 2 Trump Can’t Kill the Boom: Why the US Economy Will Roar Despite HimNouriel Roubini
u42198346fb0de2b847 0 How the Billionaire Boom Is Fueling Inequality—and Threatening DemocracyFernanda Balata and Sebastian Mang

Most Popular Articles

startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer
u421983467 2a24 4c75 9482 03c99ea44770 3 Trump’s Trade War Tears North America Apart – Could Canada and Mexico Turn to Europe?Malcolm Fairbrother
u4219834676e2a479 85e9 435a bf3f 59c90bfe6225 3 Why Good Business Leaders Tune Out the Trump Noise and Stay FocusedStefan Stern
u42198346 4ba7 b898 27a9d72779f7 1 Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political LegacyJan-Werner Müller
u4219834676574c9 df78 4d38 939b 929d7aea0c20 2 The End of Progess? The Dire Consequences of Trump’s ReturnJoseph Stiglitz

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

KU Leuven advertisement

The Politics of Unpaid Work

This new book published by Oxford University Press presents the findings of the multiannual ERC research project “Researching Precariousness Across the Paid/Unpaid Work Continuum”,
led by Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), which are very important for the prospects of a more equal Europe.

Unpaid labour is no longer limited to the home or volunteer work. It infiltrates paid jobs, eroding rights and deepening inequality. From freelancers’ extra hours to care workers’ unpaid duties, it sustains precarity and fuels inequity. This book exposes the hidden forces behind unpaid labour and calls for systemic change to confront this pressing issue.

DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641