Participatory Democracy in Europe Article 11 TEU and the Legitimacy of the European Union

Christian Marxsen, Participatory Democracy in Europe – Article 11 TEU and the Legitimacy of the European Union, in: Federico Fabbrini / Ernst Hirsch Ballin / Han Somsen (eds), What Form of Government for the European Union and the Eurozone?, Hart Publishing, Oxford 2015, 151-169

24 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2015

See all articles by Christian Marxsen

Christian Marxsen

Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law

Date Written: January 15, 2015

Abstract

Participation of societal groups in the development of policies has played a crucial role throughout the history of European integration. With the Lisbon treaty, participatory democracy has been declared a constitutional principle of the European Union (EU), aiming at improving its democratic legitimacy. In this chapter I provide a review of the developing practice of participatory democracy and raise the question whether in fact these practices promote democracy at the European level. I start by situating the principle of participatory democracy in the current legal framework of the EU (II). I will then review the major dimensions of participatory democracy, namely mechanisms that aim to set up and promote a horizontal exchange within the European society (III), mechanisms that shall foster a dialogue between European institutions and societal organizations (IV), and the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) (V). I will discuss these mechanisms with reference to the institutional claims and to their actual functioning. The chapter concludes with a critical assessment of the state of participatory democracy in Europe (VI).

Keywords: participatory democracy, European Union, legitimacy

Suggested Citation

Marxsen, Christian, Participatory Democracy in Europe Article 11 TEU and the Legitimacy of the European Union (January 15, 2015). Christian Marxsen, Participatory Democracy in Europe – Article 11 TEU and the Legitimacy of the European Union, in: Federico Fabbrini / Ernst Hirsch Ballin / Han Somsen (eds), What Form of Government for the European Union and the Eurozone?, Hart Publishing, Oxford 2015, 151-169, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2630925

Christian Marxsen (Contact Author)

Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law ( email )

Im Neuenheimer Feld 535
69120 Heidelberg, 69120
Germany

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