This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the potential impact of the Conference on the future of Europe on participatory democracy in the European Union. As compared with previous forms of consultation of European citizens, the structure and methodology of the Conference present elements of innovation. The question is whether the Conference, although still in an initial phase at the time of writing, will be another exercise of consultation of citizens that does not significantly impact on the future of the Union, or whether, instead, it can be considered a new method for shaping the Union agenda. However, it does not seem sufficient to appraise the participation of citizens in the Conference only from the perspective of input legitimacy but it is also necessary to reflect on the contribution of this process to the output legitimacy of the Union and therefore also to consider the question of the concrete results that the Conference can deliver
La conferenza sul futuro dell’Europa: uno strumento innovativo di partecipazione democratica per rafforzare la legittimità dell’Unione?
Francesca Martines
2021-01-01
Abstract
This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on the potential impact of the Conference on the future of Europe on participatory democracy in the European Union. As compared with previous forms of consultation of European citizens, the structure and methodology of the Conference present elements of innovation. The question is whether the Conference, although still in an initial phase at the time of writing, will be another exercise of consultation of citizens that does not significantly impact on the future of the Union, or whether, instead, it can be considered a new method for shaping the Union agenda. However, it does not seem sufficient to appraise the participation of citizens in the Conference only from the perspective of input legitimacy but it is also necessary to reflect on the contribution of this process to the output legitimacy of the Union and therefore also to consider the question of the concrete results that the Conference can deliverI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
