What can European media policy learn from citizens?

“At the Citizens’ Parliament, we shaped four fundamental pillars, which we do not see merely as demands, but as foundations for a democratic culture in Slovenia and Europe,” Mirka Race and Milojka Doljak, representatives of the Slovenian Citizens’ Parliament, told members of the European Parliament in their opening remarks.

In Brussels, on 13 January 2026, one of the key actions of the process lasting more than a year took place, focused on developing and presenting the demands and resolutions of Citizens’ Parliaments within the MeDeMAP project. An important step, one that carried the resolutions from their inception toward the potential beginning of their implementation, was the meeting at the European Parliament, where citizens from four different countries, Slovenia, Ireland, Austria, and the Czech Republic, presented their proposals to members of the European Parliament.

Presentation of the demands of the Slovenian Assembly of Citizens, Photo: MI Archive

In total, eight delegates appointed by the individual Citizens’ Parliaments took part. They presented selected demands with a European dimension to members of the European Parliament, thereby opening a space for participatory dialogue, at the center of which was also reflection on the possibilities such cooperation offers.

Irena Joveva and Marina Kaljurand hosted the event and was also attended by Austrian MEPs Hannes Heide and Lena Schilling, who presented their views on the highlighted demands.

The voice of the Slovenian Citizens’ Parliament in the European Parliament

In Ljubljana over the past year, a series of four meetings of citizens on the topic of media and democracy took place, resulting in the formulation of 30 demands addressed to decision-makers in Slovenia as well as at the European Union level. These were presented in Brussels by Mirka Race and Milojka Doljak. In support of high-quality standards in the media, the representatives of the Slovenian Citizens’ Parliament called on the European Union to establish an exchange program for journalists. They also advocated measures such as quotas to strengthen the representation of women and minorities in the media, as well as greater regulation and transparency of media ownership.

They concluded their presentation with the following words: “In the end, we can conclude that these demands are interconnected: financing, literacy, pluralism, and oversight mutually reinforce one another. With transparent ownership, responsible regulation, strong support for quality journalism, and citizens empowered for critical thinking, the media can strengthen democracy rather than undermine it. This is the message of the Slovenian Citizens’ Parliament, addressed to both Slovenia and the European Union. We believe that this message reflects challenges across Europe.”

Slovenska delegacija v Bruslju: Tjaša Turnšek, Brankica Petković in Lori Šramel Čebular iz Mirovnega inštituta ter Mirka Race in Milojka Doljak, predstavnici slovenskega Zbora občank in občanov, Foto: Arhiv MI