NORFACE GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP 

Guiding Questions

Thursday, June 8
08.00 - 09.00Registration
09.00 - 09.30Welcome and Opening remarks 
Preparing for  the 2024 EP Elections in Turbulent Times

Sophie Lecheler, University of Vienna (Governance Programme Coordination)
Nikoleta Yordanova, Leiden University (EUINACTION)
09.30  – 11.00 Session 1
Tackling Disinformation and Bias: Insights on Media Influence and Media Independence

Guiding questions:
1. Digital Media in Europe: How have digital media landscapes changed, and how is this change relevant for the EP elections?
2. Prevalence of Disinformation: What do we really know about the presence of disinformation in election campaigns such as the EP elections? Identifying Culprits: Who is responsible for the spread and creation of disinformation in Europe? What role does traditional mass media play here?
3. Building Resilience: How can EU institutions, media, and citizens fight disinformation?
11.00 – 11.30Coffee Break
11.30 - 13.00Session 2
Participation and Representation of Citizens and Political Actors

Guiding questions:
1. Participation as a driver of representation: How does participation translate into representation (in the EU)? How could the visibility and participation in the upcoming EP elections be increased?
2. Conflict of interests: Why does the EU fail to earn the reputation of a representative political system among the citizens? Whose preferences prevail in shaping policies when the majority interests of citizens and organized groups do not align? What are the consequences of that for democratic representation?
3. Channels of participation and representation: Do all citizens’ views, across all member states, have the same impact on EU decision-making and policies? Which institutions are better able to channel citizen preferences, and why?
13.00 – 14.00 Lunch Break
14.00 – 15.30  Session 3
Great Divides?: Elections in Times of Fragmentation and Polarization

Guiding questions:
1. Impact of domestic fragmentation: How does domestic fragmentation over policy decisions affect EU governance of these same policy fields?
2. Intra-Party division: What effect does inter and intra-party polarization have on electoral dynamics and outcomes in these divided times?
3. Rise of misinformation: What effect does political misinformation have on fragmentation and polarization of parties’ electoral viability? In the context of the upcoming 2024 European Elections, how might misinformation influence the electoral outcomes?
15.30 – 17.00Session 4
The Changing Authority and Responsiveness of Institutions in Democracies

Guiding questions:
1. Authority of institutions: When do politicians delegate new policy competences and authority to institutions? How do the ongoing crises shape the ability of institutions to obtain new competencies?
2. Responsiveness of institutions: What constrains institutional policy action when public preferences and organized interests demand it, especially in times of crisis?
3. Technocratic vs. representative institutions: Why and when do technocratic institutions seek to appear responsive to the citizens and strengthen their public legitimacy? How have the recent turbulent times shaped the strategies of the institutions to do so?
17.00 - 17.30 Closing remarks 

Sophie Lecheler, University of Vienna (Governance Programme Coordination)
Nikoleta Yordanova, Leiden University (EUINACTION)
18:30Dinner