Listening to Europe: European Commission launches its 2015 series of Citizens' Dialogues in Riga

The European Commission today (8 January) launches a new series of Citizen's Dialogues, giving people across Europe a chance to talk directly with members of the European Commission. This is part of a clear commitment to better communication with citizens. In the Mission Letters sent to all commissioners in September 2014, President Juncker called on the College to be "politically active in the member states and in dialogues with citizens".

Citizens from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania have been invited to attend the first debate with Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans, Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and Commissioner Corina Creţu in Riga. The Commissioners will discuss important topics for Europe and the Baltic region, such as job creation, economic growth, the new EU Investment Plan, fiscal responsibility, structural reforms and social dialogue.

First Vice President Frans Timmermans said: "The European Union is more than just 'Brussels' and that's why we want all Commissioners to spend more time with people in the Member States. Listening to their concerns and how they think that Europe can help will allow us to do our job better. My colleagues and I look forward to a series of lively and open discussions with Europe's citizens."

Citizens can attend the debate in person, by registering in advance here  and can also participate and comment online during the event via the following website.

Alternatively, comments can be submitted using the Twitter hashtag #EUdialogues.

The event is being moderated by Edijs Boss, TV3 news journalist and presenter. The working language is Latvian, and interpretation is provided into English, Estonian, Lithuanian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, French and German.

Venue: Great Hall of the Riga Latvian Society House

The Citizens' Dialogue starts at 15h45 local time (14h45 CET) and ends at 17h15 local time (16h15 CET)

Background

The concept of Citizens' Dialogues builds on the model of 'town hall meetings' or local fora during which politicians listen to and debate with citizens about policies and decisions being taken. Between 2012 and 2014, the European Commission organised 51 Citizens’ Dialogues in all member states. The full report is available here.