From Consensus to Majoritarian EU-level Democracy? The ECI as an Example of Constitutional Change

Plottka, Julian

doi:10.5771/9783845266138-169

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Based on the Swiss experience, Papadopoulos (2005, p. 461) is hopeful that "referendums would be integrated into the overall consociational framework". However, Plottka (2016) contrasts the conflict logic of the initiators of ECIs with the consensual logic typical of EU institutions. 32.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 98%

The European Union: Consociational Past, Centripetal Future?

Bogaards

2021

Representation

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Consociational interpretations of the European Union (EU) are well established and help to explain the political stability of the 27member state system. In contrast, the increasingly common centripetal elements have not yet received systematic attention. Using a framework originally designed to map the choices for divided societies, this article highlights centripetalism in EU party regulation and proposals for electoral reform. Going beyond the spatial distribution requirements that play such a central role in aggregative institutions in the EU, the article suggests that cross-national districts rather than a supra-national district provide the strongest incentive for European parties to organise EU-wide campaigns on European issues, fielding candidates with crossnational appeal. The article concludes with a reflection on the relationship between consociational and centripetal elements in the EU. It shows that consociationalism and centripetalism in the EU can continue to co-exist, though the balance is likely to change.

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 98%

The European Union: Consociational Past, Centripetal Future?

Bogaards

2021

Representation

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“…('Right2Water', aimed against water privatization); One of us (aimed at stopping embryonic stem cell research); Stop Vivisection; Ban Glyphosate and protect people and the environment from toxic pesticides; and Minority Safe Pack (a protection package for national minorities). 4 The first of these to meet the threshold, Right2Water, got a thorough airing on German television, such that one half of a sample polled in Germany during the campaign claimed to have heard of the Initiative (Plottke, 2016). A common denominator to all these campaigns involves the backing of established organizations -a key trade union (Right2Water: European Federation of Public Service Unions); social movements (One of us: Catholic Church; Stop Vivisection: Italian animal welfare organizations; Minority Safe Pack:…”

Section: The Eci In Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The European Citizens’ Initiative: bringing the EU closer to its citizens?

Greenwood

2018

Comp Eur Polit

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In defiance of accounts which see the European Union (EU) as structurally incompatible with democracy, the Lisbon Treaty set out the general right and specific means for citizens to participate in EU decision-making. Whilst the Treaty codified long-established practices of representative democracy and of dialogue with civil society organizations (CSOs), it also notably introduced a new measure, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), commencing in 2012. The ECI has limited formal powers, with no ability to mandate political institutions. It is promoted by the European Commission as an agenda-setting and participatory democracy measure, rather than one of direct democracy. Nonetheless, it has an elevated status within one of the current European Commission's ten strategic priorities, and is remarkable in a number of ways. First, it differs from the European Commission's established partnerships and dialogue with organized interests by focusing on direct forms of wider citizen participation. Second, it is the world's first transnational citizens' initiative, with aspirations to help build an EU-wide public sphere. These aspirations were assessed in a 2017 review of the measure, proposing the introduction of a number of reforms aimed at tackling limited impact to date. This article evaluates the impact of the ECI in its first five years and then discusses the proposed reforms in terms of their potential to increase public deliberation. It develops and appraises evaluative criteria that help to assess whether 2 institutionalizing contention, even in ways highly critical of EU institutions, might enhance public deliberation and bring the EU closer to its citizens.

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The European Citizens’ Initiative: the territorial extension of a European political public sphere?

Greenwood

Tuokko

2016

European Politics and Society

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From Consensus to Majoritarian EU-level Democracy? The ECI as an Example of Constitutional Change

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

The European Union: Consociational Past, Centripetal Future?

The European Union: Consociational Past, Centripetal Future?

The European Citizens’ Initiative: bringing the EU closer to its citizens?

The European Citizens’ Initiative: the territorial extension of a European political public sphere?

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