Window dressing or winding of opportunity – Gender, democracy and the Conference on the Future of Europe

The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) finally started in May 2021 and will run until spring 2022. The CoFoE is an innovative attempt to deliberate on the future of the EU in times of crisis by bringing in citizens. The conference rests on a complex governance structure linking EU institutions, national and EU level actors, a digital participation platform and Transnational Citizens’ Assemblies (TCA). From the very start the conference was met with strong skepticism. Many observers rather classify it as mere window dressing without real impact. Others see it as a window of opportunity for opening the debate and bringing in different voices. What does the CoFoE entail for gender equality? Based on what we can see so far (autumn 2021) and in comparison to other historical constitution-making events, the paper will argue that the is a great improvement in terms of descriptive representation. In contrast to IGCs of the past and the convention method, women are now represented in great numbers: parity is a formal requirement for the TCAs, more female delegates from the EU institutions and in the conference’s plenary – yet: weak participation by women in the digital platform. In terms of substantive representation and policy issues the evaluation is more complex and most likely rather mixed. There is no formal gender mainstreaming requirement, but gender equality is an issue related to some CoFoE themes. Also, many feminist NGOs and experts follow the conference and provide some input. Hence, there are certainly attempts to use it as a window of opportunity. The paper will investigate the CoFoE with a gender lens based on representation theory. It will draw some lessons with regard to current efforts to turn some elements such as the citizens’ assemblies into a permanent tool for deliberation and democratic innovation.