The European Policy Center (EPC) discussion paper emphasizes the rise of deliberative democracy in Europe as a response to public demand for meaningful engagement. It identifies three key obstacles: fears of shifting power dynamics, a lack of innovative thinking, and diverging views on citizen participation. The paper also makes the case that the Union’s existing participatory toolbox should be expanded to include four new instruments collectively supported and jointly organized by the European Commission, Parliament, and Council. The new instruments proposed in the paper are: creating ‘big tent’ fora; citizens’ deliberations on major transformative projects; European Citizens’ Reform Panel; and European Forum on Enlargement. Read more here.
Source: European Policy Centre