Democracy in the EU after the Lisbon Treaty
The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, on December 1 2009, brought the EU's troubled institutional reform process to an end. In an effort to increase the EU's democratic legitimacy, the Treaty introduces some relevant innovations: it extends the powers of the European Parliament, it enhances the role of European political parties, it involves national parliaments increasingly in the EU legislative process and, finally, it creates the European Citizens' Initiative, which allows citizens to invite the Commission to submit legislative proposals that they feel are of crucial importance. Nevertheless, the implementation of these provisions will not be easy as they impact on, among other things, the EU's institutional balance. Not only does it remain to be seen how effective they will be in bringing EU institutions closer to citizens, but the application of some of these provisions could lead to inter-institutional conflicts and political ambiguities. In this context, the European Parliament has a key role to play as a political and institutional facilitator, also in promoting more consistent linkages between citizens and the EU institutional system.
A publication IAI-Centro studi sul Federalismo [12]-Notre Europe [13], produced within the framework of the project [14] "How to Enhance European citizens' participation in the European Integration".
iairp_02.pdf [3]-
Details
Roma, Nuova Cultura, September 2011, 158 p. -
In:
-
Issue
2 -
ISBN/ISSN/DOI:
978-88-6134-716-8
List of Contributors
List of Abbreviations
Introduction, Gianni Bonvicini
1. European Political Parties: The Missing Link, Julian Priestley
Introduction: European parties, seven years on
1.1. The 2009 European Elections
1.2. The division of the spoils
1.3. Outside the formal structures
1.4. Political parties - consolidating enlargement
1.5. The parties and public opinion
1.6. Four modest reforms
1.7. Can we?
2. National Parliaments after the Lisbon Treaty: A New Power Player or Mr. No in the EU Decision Making?, Raffaello Matarazzo
Introduction
2.1. Democratic legitimacy and accountability: a new role for NPs
2.2. The Lisbon Treaty provisions
2.3. The four domains of NPs participation at EU level
2.4. Concluding remarks
3. The European Citizens' Initiative: Challenges and Perspectives, Salvatore Aloisio, Giorgio Grimaldi, Umberto Morelli, Antonio Padoa-Schioppa
Introduction. Democracy in the European Union (EU): General remarks
3.1. The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI)
3.2. The European Commission's proposal for a regulation of the ECI
3.3. ECIs: suggestions and outlook
3.4. Critical analysis of the European Commission's regulation proposal and the debate in progress
3.5. Concluding remarks
4. Conclusion, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa
Programme [15] of the Workshop, Turin, November 3, 2010
List of participants