Events

The European Union is often criticized for its deficit of democracy. Referenda, as a quintessence of direct democracy and a channel of citizen’s direct voice are often presented as a solution to this problem. Referenda have proven to be an excellent tool of direct democracy in Switzerland giving its citizens a sense of control over the state policies.
 
However, the most recent experience has demonstrated that referenda no longer benefit democracy. Populist politicians tend to use them not to obtain citizen’s opinions on the important issues, but  to strengthen their political position. As shown by Brexit, such manipulations can have detrimental consequences for the country. Meanwhile, the popularity of this democratic tool has not declined - new referendums are being planned or are under consideration in several EU member states.
 
Our guests from the United Kingdom and Hungary will share their experiences with referendum campaigns in these two countries; the unsuccessful “Remain” campaign in the UK and the campaign toward boycotting anti-immigrants referenda in Hungary. We will also discuss the case of Germany, which banned national referenda due to the negative experience of Nazi referenda in the 1930s. During “Marathon of ideas” our guests will reminisce Polish EU referendum in 2003 and will reflect on a question if every matter can be voted.
 
 Join us on the next debate on Europe with
 
 
Marathon of ideas:
 
Radosław Ciszewski, Kazimierz Pulaski Foundation
Katarzyna Szymielewicz, Panoptykon Foundation
 
Debate:
 
Roger Calase, New Europeans, United Kingdom
István Hegedűs, Hungarian Europe Society
Arnie Lietz, Member of the European Parliament, SPD, Germany
Agnieszka Wisniewska, Krytyka Polityczna
 
Moderator:Agnieszka Łada, Instytut Spraw Publicznych
 
 
Polish-English translation provided.
 
The debate is organised within the framework of the project, supported by the the European Parliament, in which Institute of Public Affairs and the Friedricha Eberta Foundation try to initiate a public debate on issues important for Europe that are also discussed in the European Parliament.



The project is co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament's grant programme in the field of communication.