Intersectionality is an area still to be explored within the European Union and particularly in the context of deliberative democracy mechanisms, such as citizens’ assemblies. 

As part of the EU-CIEMBLY project, which aims at providing the analytical framework and the prototype of an EU Citizens’ Assembly that encompasses intersectionality, a review of legal and policy documents addressing intersectionality in the EU has been developed, so as to identify the shortcomings or gaps that should be addressed by the relevant bodies. 

The main findings of the first year of the project are presented in this policy brief, which also contains recommendations on the operationalisation of intersectionality in the policy areas of the European Union, especially in deliberative democracy. 

Particularly, intersectionality should be better defined, according to a clear analytical framework, and integrated extensively into all relevant policy but also legal documents of the EU, which would allow exploring the full range of a developing intersectionality toolbox that includes strategic but also binding measures. 

On this behalf, more guidance from the EU is required in its various fields of action. The “Union of Equality” is still in need of improvements, but it is in the deliberative arena that the EU – as a main actor in promoting and delivering mini-public formats – has the most to offer in terms of developing an intersectional embedded approach for Citizens’ Assemblies.