Europe witnessed a rare democratic experiment on this year’s Intergenerational Fairness Day, 16 November 2025. Over the course of three months, 150 randomly selected citizens from all 27 EU Member States worked together at the European Commission’s Citizens’ Panel on Intergenerational Fairness to answer a deceptively simple question: How must the EU act today to be fair to both current and future generations? Their work culminated in a set of 24 recommendations that will serve as input to the first-ever EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness, expected in spring 2026. Anyone who has read our detailed blog post on the final panel session will know how significant this moment truly was.
This is exactly where our seventh episode of the Intergenerational Fairness Day Podcast, “Inside the European Commission’s Citizens’ Panel”, picks up. The podcast is part of our global initiative around the Intergenerational Fairness Day and regularly explores political, scientific, and social issues that shape the life chances of young and future generations.
In this episode, FRFG Project Manager and podcast host Lena Winzer takes listeners behind the scenes in Brussels. From 14–16 November, she attended the final weekend of the European Citizens’ Panel on Intergenerational Fairness, observed the closing plenary, spoke with participants, and witnessed the moment the 24 recommendations were formally adopted and handed over to Commissioner Glenn Micallef.
In this podcast episode, Lena offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Citizens’ Panel: How did the whole process unfold? What sets this panel apart from others? And what significance will it hold for the EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness in 2026? To explore these questions, she speaks with three individuals who played a pivotal role in developing this format.
- Béla Kuslits, Senior Ecology Officer at the Jesuit European Social Centre, and the Coordinator of the Future Generations Initiative
- Petranka Malcheva, Policy Lead for Health, Long-term thinking and Prevention at the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
- Deša Srsen, Cabinet Member of Commissioner Micallef and responsible for drafting the upcoming EU Strategy
Lena discusses the panel’s purpose with experts, shares their biggest surprises, and what it will take for Europe to truly embed long-term responsibility into everyday policymaking. Topics range from government reforms and shifts in culture to citizen involvement and Europe’s potential as a pioneer for Intergenerational Fairness.
If you want to understand how exactly Europe is trying to turn intergenerational fairness into political practice, this is the episode you don’t want to miss.
Listen to the new episode:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2273376
Read our detailed blogpost on the European Citizens’ Panel:
https://intergenerationaljustice.org/2025/11/25/european-citizens-panel-intergenerational-fairness/
Follow the Intergenerational Fairness Day initiative on Instagram @intergenerationalfairnessday and use the hashtag #intergenerationalfairnessday.