06/10/2021 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre launched a new Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy on Wednesday 6 October. The role of the Centre will be to help EU institutions and organisations to support and strengthen participatory democracy events (juries, citizens’ panels) to include citizens more in European policies. This initiative is part of the Conference on the Future of Europe and the European Democracy Action Plan. On this occasion, the European Committee of the Regions, which is strongly committed to the promotion of these democratic events, wished to cooperate with the new centre by insisting on the link with local and regional authorities. (PH)