In preparation for the future Community action programme to promote active European citizenship for the period 2007 2013, the Directorate General for Education and Culture organised an extensive two-stage consultation exercise between December 2004 and February 2005.
The second step consisted in a Consultation Forum, held on 3 and 4 February 2005 in Brussels. The Forum attracted over 350 participants from across Europe, representing NGOs, think tanks, regional and municipal representatives, European networks, advocacy groups, trade unions and European associations. The objective was to debate more in depth the defining elements of the future active citizenship programme with citizens and representatives of Europes civil society. A full record and a report of the speeches, workshops and plenary .
The results of this consultation proved to be determining in the drafting of a strengthened programme Citizens for Europe.