Citizens’ conferences attempt to include citizens in the decisional and political process. Created to foster deliberation and public debate on disputed issues, they place ordinary citizens in the spotlight and ask them to express their views, after having debated the issues with specialists....

Several participatory techniques have been tested in European countries, mostly in relation to local issues. The EU has recently launched the first series of citizens' conferences at the EU level. Based on survey results, this paper analyses the specific problems that derive from their...