Przezwyciężanie kryzysu w procesie integracji europejskiej poprzez zmiany regulacji dotyczących udziału obywateli UE w podejmowaniu i realizacji decyzji

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of citizen participation-enabling mechanisms in the EU decision-making process on the legitimacy of the Union. The inquiry measures and categorises participation in the EU, utilising the analytic instruments developed in existing theoretical approaches. The research problem is the evaluation of conditions created in the EU for active participation in the public life for their potential of overcoming the crisis in the European integration process. The aim of the study has been accomplished in two stages. First, the legislative process in the EU has been presented, with law-making and implementation phases distinguished. Second, the different kinds of participation in the EU have been categorised and their intensity described. The categorisation is adapted from the distinction made by W. Tegtmeier. The author is testing the hypothesis that the multitude of modes of engaging citizens in the decision making process in the EU confirms the Union’s legitimacy. She concludes that citizen participation in the decision-making at the EU level could potentially positively contribute to the process of overcoming the crisis of democracy in the EU.