By virtue of its role in the EU institutional set up, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) contributes to strenthening the democratic legitimacy of the European Union by contributing to the development of a more participatory model of society acting both as a privileged interlocutor in the dialogue between civil society organisations and the European institutions and as organised civil society's institutional forum for representation, consultation, information and expression.
Effective participatory democracy is needed to restore credibility to the European Union
Brussels, Dec. 14 (DP.net).─ The EESC called last November for full implementation of Article 11 of the Treaty of Lisbon in order to strengthen democratic legitimacy in the European Union (EU), bringing citizens closer to the EU project and prviding a platform for interaction between the continental institution and its citizens.
The EESC has been active promoting these ideas since March 2010 when the Committee asked the European Commission to publish a green paper on the implementation of the principle of participatory democracy as enshrined in Article 11 of the Lisbon Treaty. This move favored the subsequent promotion of the European citizens' initiative.
These moves are prompted by the EESC belief that the legitimacy crisis of the EU institutions can be solved only by them opening their doors to civil society, citizens and citizen organisations, thereby establishing ongoing dialogue that can bridge the existing gap.
"More transparency and more participation are the two key elements in defending democracy and fighting extremism" said Mr Jahier when he presented the opinion to the Commission last November. Mr Jahier argued that a starting point to assessing the extent of civil dialogue is to compile a database of contacts, competences and organisationsinvolved in existing consultations and dialogue with the institutions. The Committee also asked that the Transparency Register be extended to the European Council, and that the Council do more to involve civil society in its policies, with the help of the EESC. Finally, the opinion suggests that a major annual event be held to collate European civil society contributions and provide input into the Commission's annual programme and into the priorities of the various institutions.
The opinion was adopted by an overwhelming vote during the 484th Plenary Session of the EESC. Isabelle Durant, Vice-President of the European Parliament pointed out that we should not be afraid of participatory democracy and citizens' opinions, recalling the importance of citizens' monitoring of EU policy-makers and the positive influence that citizens' legislative initiatives and petitions can have on policies.