The participation of European citizens in the legislative process: reflections and perspectives of an incomplete dialogue

Abstract

EU citizenship, even in its ancillary concept, aims to achieve transnational citizen participation in the legislative and democratic process of EU supranational institutions. Article 10(3) of the TEU, in fact, states that every citizen has the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union, and that every measure must derive from mechanisms that should be open and close to its recipients. This paper seeks to address some of the questions related to the participation of the European citizens through the recent mechanisms that are trying to engage a fruitful dialogue with the EU institutions, with a mainly legal and comparative approach, also including the main findings from political, statistical and social analysis. In addition to the emerging doctrine on this topic, it also focuses on the findings coming from the Conference on the Future of Europe and the recommendations elaborated by citizens' panels, stakeholders and institutional representatives, trying to outline the perimeter of a scenario that is still uncertain and to be completed