Several participatory techniques have been tested in European countries, mostly in relation to local issues. The EU has recently launched the first series of citizens' conferences at the EU level. Based on survey results, this paper analyses the specific problems that derive from their transnational character. Our main argument is that, because they take place in a transnational setting, those events give rise to specific problems. In a polity that is both significantly larger and much more heterogeneous than a state, participation is more difficult to organize, as each society has its own system of values and cultural norms that impinge on the structure of public debate. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.