Government details funding for deliberative process with 50 randomly selected citizens, including €100

The Andorran government allocated €34,908.37 to the Citizen Assembly 'Tracem el futur d’Andorra en un món que canvia', a consultative deliberative process involving 50 citizens chosen by stratified random draw to ensure social representativeness.

Secretary of State for Equality and Citizen Participation, Mariona Cadena, provided the breakdown in a written reply to General Councilor Noemí Amador, deputy president of the Andorra Endavant group. Amador had raised concerns about the legal grounds for paying participants €100 per session and the process's overall cost.

The 2025 budget of €19,346.80 funded adaptation and printing of informational materials, communication campaigns, and public distribution to spotlight key national challenges. For 2026, €15,561.57 covered €12,800 in participant payments—set at €100 per session for up to three six-hour days, though the final amount fell short of the cap due to varying attendance—along with €1,963.38 for refreshments, €567.44 for venue costs, and €391.50 for parking. Communication expenses totaled €12,971 to drive widespread public involvement in shaping the country's future priorities.

A steering committee, comprising two representatives each from the General Council, comuns, government, and Citizen Oversight body, plus two impartial chairs, approved the payments. Cadena justified them as a way to recognize participants' time and effort, address work or personal scheduling conflicts, and remove financial hurdles to inclusion. She noted the rate aligned with international standards as "proportional, coherent, and reasonable," consistent with Law 33/2021 on transparency and open government.

Cadena presented the assembly as a key tool of deliberative democracy, fostering collective debate on strategic issues to guide—but not obligate—policy choices by the government or General Council. She praised the participants' engagement as a model of civic dedication that bolsters institutional strength and democratic standards.