Projects meant to give power to EU city dwellers risk being reduced to a 'box-ticking' exercise unless municipal leaders can convince as many of their constituents as possible to participate.
To fight democratic backsliding and strengthen local democracy, cities have developed creative tools to boost citizen engagement, such as participatory budgeting and regional consultations. These forms of public participation are meant to bring democracy closer to citizens, giving them a...
European cities are increasingly giving their inhabitants a voice on local matters by asking urbanites how to spend municipal budgets and engaging them on innovative platforms. Local leaders believe engaging citizens can strengthen democracy and speed up Europe’s green transition,...
Lorsqu’ils sont interrogés par les dirigeants sur ce qu’ils souhaitent pour leurs villes, les Européens vivant en ville placent la transition environnementale, les infrastructures durables et les espaces publics verts en tête de leurs priorités.
European youth should participate in political discussions, specifically on reforming democratic processes and not just on traditional topics like education, European Youth Forum President Silja Markkula told EURACTIV.
For years, Berlin has at best administered, mostly stonewalled, when it came to European policy. It is now time for a German government that will throw its full weight behind an active European policy, writes Jamila Schäfer.
After the successive crises over two decades, a core issue for the Conference on the Future of Europe should be how to ensure the resilience of the EU and put policies in favour of European citizens first, Slovenia's State Secretary Gašper Dovžan told EURACTIV.
Uzbekistan is celebrating on Wednesday (1 September) the 30th anniversary from its independence from the Soviet Union, as a milestone in its nation building, while it is looking forward to the next stage of its development called “Third Renaissance”.
The European Commission has committed to working towards a ban on cages for farmed animals in what is being hailed as an historic move for animal welfare after a citizens initiative amassed more than one million signatures from across Europe.
EU nationals living in the UK have a week until a 30 June deadline to apply for settled status, after officials confirmed that the cut-off date would not be extended.
After the tumultuous years for the transatlantic relationship under Donald Trump, Joe Biden's promise that "America is back" as he meets Western allies are a welcome relief. But they're not enough, diplomats and foreign policy experts say.
A quarter of EU citizens living in the UK do not feel they are treated equally to UK citizens, according to the first survey of EU citizens by the watchdog set to protect their rights published on Thursday (13 May).
Recent reports have confirmed the negative trend for media freedom in Hungary but also pointed to Budapest's negative impact on press freedom in neighbouring countries. On World Press Freedom Day (3 May), EURACTIV talked to two of the main experts on Hungarian media.
In its latest report published on Wednesday (28 April) the NGO Freedom House warns of an "antidemocratic turn" throughout Europe, “fuelling a deterioration in human freedom with global implications”.
With France set to take over the rotating EU Council Presidency in the first half of 2022, European Affairs Minister Clément Beaune last week launched two committees: a monitoring committee and a reflection committee. EURACTIV France reports.
The citizens' rights watchdog set up to protect the rights of EU nationals living in the UK is conducting its first survey to understand the level of public concern about living in Britain after Brexit.
European democracy is in urgent need of reinventing itself. Under threat by polarization and disinformation, deliberative democracy could help bring back power to the people, from the hyperlocal to the international political field, write Pepijn Kennis and Samuel Doveri Vesterbye.
The European Commission said on Friday (15 January) that it would not propose new laws in response to a petition demanding a protection package for national minorities that garnered 1.1 million signatures across the EU.
The latest successful European Citizens' Initiative, Minority SafePack, is a rare opportunity to take democratic participation seriously, after a number of previous ECis failed to garner enough attention or make an impact on EU legislation, writes Carsten Berg.
