Page 47 - Demo

%u25aa Petitions to the European Parliament are the Union%u2019s oldest participationinstrument. They are relatively popular in a handful of EU countries, but theEP does not highly prioritise them. %u25aa The European Ombudsman is an independent institution that investigatescomplaints against maladministration by EU bodies. It has increased theopenness and accessibility of EU public administration, but still lacks widepublic attention. %u25aa Public consultations, organised by the European Commission, invitecitizens and stakeholders to provide feedback on policy proposals. Thoughthe Commission is increasing its efforts to make them more visible,participation is often dominated by organised interests, and impact oftenremains unclear. %u25aa Citizens%u2019 Dialogues are town-hall meetings organised by the Commissionwith commissioners or EU officials. They offer citizens an opportunity toreceive immediate feedback on their questions and ideas, but mainly cater toa pro-European audience, with little actual deliberation. %u25aa European Citizens%u2019 Consultations were an experiment in improving thequality of democracy at the EU level. They took place in 2018 and early 2019,on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron. The initiative gaveEuropean citizens in 27 Member States the possibility to express andexchange their opinions about the Union and its future.%u25aa European citizens%u2019 panels have the ambition to become a regular feature ofdemocratic life in the European Union. They bring together randomly selectedcitizens from all 27 Member States to discuss %u2013 at a European level %u2013 key,upcoming proposals that affect all European citizens.n 1. 3. 3. Enhancing citizen participation in the European UnionAcross Europe, citizen trust in governments and institutions is at an all-time low,while nearly half of EU citizens claim they are unsatisfied with the waydemocracy works in the EU. With populist and nationalistic parties gainingground in Europe, it seems that fostering citizens%u2019 participation in the Europeandemocratic process has become more crucial than ever.Citizens need to be given a meaningful say in shaping the EU%u2019s future to avoidpeople feeling left behind by what they believe to be an elitist project. Innovativeand inclusive forms of participation, as well as the use of existing structures,can bring European citizens closer to the EU and enhance civic engagement,allowing the EU%u2019s purpose and objectives to be restored and redefined(European Movement, 2020).A step toward that goal is to identify the challenges that hinder theeffectiveness of the existing instruments.One of the major issues related to citizen engagement is the lack of awareness471.3 Citizenship Participation and Engagement