European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic attended the European Economic and Social Committee’s Bureau meeting this afternoon. The long exchange of views focused in on the crisis and the responses of the Eurozone and of the Union more generally. Several speakers underlined the importance of fleshing out the Lisbon Treaty’s provisions on participatory democracy (Article 11). The Treaty was drafted in response to two major challenges: enlargement and the gap between the EU and its citizens. Enlargement has duly occurred but the gap with the citizen has, if anything, grown wider. The long Bureau meeting was consensual and productive, with discussions on a number of important matters for the Committee and its work.