Category: Excellence in diversity and inclusion

The EESC Youth Group launched the EU Youth Test, an initiative aimed at integrating youth perspectives into EU policymaking. The project assesses how proposed EU policies affect young people and future generations, ensuring that their concerns are taken into account in areas such as climate policy, digital transition, and employment. Through this initiative, the EESC promotes intergenerational fairness, meaningful participation, and inclusive governance, setting an example of how institutions can engage young people in shaping Europe’s future.

Category: Excellence in technological innovation and the use of AI

DG GROW’s Proactive WebCrawler is an AI-driven system used to detect dangerous and non-compliant products sold online. Using data mining, natural-language processing, and large-language-model (LLM) analysis, the system scans commercial websites and detects risk-related keywords. Developed to support the Market Surveillance Authorities of Member States, the system is currently used by 1,300 inspectors across the EU. WebCrawler improves inspection capacity to strengthen consumer protection and support fair competition within the Single Market.

The Just Transition Platform helps communities in EU regions that rely heavily on coal mining or polluting industries to transition towards a decarbonised economy. The Platform promotes diversity and inclusion through various activities such as providing toolkits and organising working groups to ensure that the needs of vulnerable groups are also considered in transition areas. It involves a wide range of stakeholders from local authorities to trade unions, aiming to create a more just and sustainable future for all.

Category: Excellence in technological innovation and the use of AI

Through the development of a Roblox game, Europol created an accessible and interactive experience to help children build digital resilience. Thanks to an immersive game environment where players become ‘Cyber Defenders’, the project educates young people on safe online behaviour and critical thinking. The use of a popular platform where the hard-to-reach young audience are already present demonstrates how EU institutions can responsibly use emerging technology to improve outreach, trust, and citizen engagement.

Category: Excellence in technological innovation and the use of AI

The European Digital Education Hub (EDEH), co-created by DG EAC and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, is a large online community of education professionals from all over Europe. The platform offers webinars, working groups, and community workshops, where members can share good practices and discuss ideas addressing themes such as AI in education, the future classroom, and wellbeing in digital education. EDEH ensures bottom-up participation that informs Commission policies and guidelines.

Category: Excellence in open administration

The Taskforce on Startups and Scaleups brings together 25 Commission services and Europe’s startup community to develop and implement the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy. Through an innovative cross-service structure and continuous dialogue with founders and investors via the European Startup and Scaleup Forum, the Taskforce has significantly improved how the Commission interacts with Europe’s startup community, delivering open, participatory policymaking and more coherent EU action for startups and scaleups.

Category: Excellence in citizen/civil society participation

European Youth Week 2024 brought institutions, stakeholders, and over 1.8 million young people together to promote youth engagement, active citizenship, and democratic participation ahead of the 2024 European elections. Through a kick-off event, an exhibition, a DiscoverEU call and meet-up, Youth Policy Dialogues with commissioners, and more than 2000 activities organised across Europe, the event empowered young people to engage in public life, discover opportunities, and shape Europe's future.

Category: Excellence in open administration

‘EU funding & me’ is the first European Commission app bringing EU funding opportunities closer to people. Designed around user needs, the app makes funding simple to explore and easy to follow – allowing people to search, track, and share opportunities, or explore EU-funded projects on an interactive map. Since its launch, the app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times and has reached users in over 170 countries, and received positive feedback for saving time and simplifying complex processes, demonstrating the Commission's commitment to open, citizen-focused administration and digital innovation.

Category: Excellence in diversity and inclusion 

The DiscoverEU initiative is an Erasmus+ program that offers 18-year-olds a free rail pass to explore Europe's cultural richness. In 2022, it was expanded with the DiscoverEU Inclusion Action that provides targeted support to young people with fewer opportunities, including those facing disabilities, health issues, economic hardship, discrimination, cultural or educational barriers, or geographical isolation. Since its launch, this specific action has enabled over 4 170 participants to travel, learn, and discover Europe.

Category: Excellence in citizen/civil society participation

The EU Local Councillors Network brings together over 3,000 regional and local elected representatives to help communicate EU policies and opportunities to citizens as well as to strengthening dialogue between citizens and EU institutions. Jointly managed by the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission, the Network is an example of interinstitutional cooperation and efficient use of resources. The Network has already facilitated various study visits, webinars, and outreach events, and has plans to expand further in 2026.

Category: Excellence in citizen/civil society participation

The European Climate Pact is a participatory initiative designed to engage citizens and civil society in Europe's climate transition. By raising awareness, sharing good examples, organising events, and encouraging cooperation, the Pact demonstrates that climate action is a shared endeavour. With a network of more than 1,500 volunteer ambassadors and 100 partners, the Pact connects EU institutions with local communities to turn climate ambition into citizen-driven action across Europe.

Category: Excellence in open administration

The EU Law Tracker is a website launched by the Parliament, Council, and Commission to improve transparency and access to information on the EU law-making process. It allows citizens and stakeholders to follow EU legislative proposals from beginning to end in one single place. By offering a timeline of events and direct access to documents from the institutions, it promotes informed participation and contributes to a more transparent and citizen-oriented EU administration.