ACTIVITIES :: eGovernment :: Policy :: eParticipation

eParticipation

eParticipation is about reconnecting ordinary people with politics and policy-making and making the decision-making processes easier to understand and follow through the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

In many European countries turnouts at national and European elections have been falling. There are numerous reasons for this. Perhaps voters feel their vote will not “make a difference” or that their concerns and opinions are not being listened to or acted upon. More widely, people have higher expectations as regards the quality and efficiency of public services as well as access to public institutions and elected politicians. There is greater demand for public services and information to be customised to their needs and available at a touch of button, or click of a mouse. Achieving this would require improvements in the way public services are provided today.

Governments and the EU institutions are working with citizens to identify and test ways of giving them more of a stake in the policy-shaping process, such as through public consultations on new legislation. ICTs provide a range of tools which can give citizens easier access to information about what decisions are being taken which affect their lives and how the decision-making process works. They can also help foster communication and interaction between politicians and government bodies on the one side, and citizens on the other. Internet, mobile phones and interactive television can be used to channel information to citizens and canvass their views. Increasing transparency and public participation benefits democracy and should improve the quality of legislation being adopted. It is also good for the cohesion of European society because participation promotes a sense of ownership of the political process.

Democratic quests

EU leaders showed their commitment to making Europe more democratic and transparent by including this aim in the Treaty of Lisbon, signed in December 2007. It will make it clearer who does what at European and national level, it strengthens the role of the European Parliament and national parliaments and it gives citizens more opportunities to have their voice heard. It introduces, for example, the Citizens' Initiative, whereby one million citizens from a significant number of Member States will be able to ask the Commission to present a proposal in any of the EU's areas of responsibility.

EU Member States also supported the inclusion of eParticipation as one of the five priorities of the eGovernment Action Plan. The aim is to demonstrate by 2010 tools for effective public debate and participation in democratic decision-making. Member States reinforced their commitment to eParticipation in the Lisbon Ministerial Declaration adopted in September 2007.

In recent years, the EU and its Member States have mounted a concerted effort to find workable mechanisms and solutions to enhance and boost eParticipation. Under the Fifth and Sixth Framework Programmes for Research (FP5 and FP6), which ran from 1998 to 2006, the EC funded around 20 ICT research projects in this area. Funding under the ongoing Seventh Research Framework Programme covers ICT for governance and policy modelling, which includes the development of mass collaboration tools.

At the end of 2005, the European Parliament asked the Commission to launch an eParticipation Preparatory Action to promote the use of ICT in legislative and decision-making processes within parliamentary and government environments. The Preparatory Action lasted for three years (2006-2008). 21 projects have been funded. Further information on the eParticipation Preparatory Action can be found here.

In addition, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) ICT Policy Support Programme is funding a network focusing on regional and local eParticipation initiatives (PEP-NET).

Looking ahead

While the eParticipation Preparatory Action has come to an end, the activities in this area have continued under the CIP ICT Policy Support Programme for 2009. The eParticipation Call for proposals (June 2009 – September 2009) focused on a single objective addressing eParticipation - empowering and involving citizens in transparent decision-making in the EU. It is intended to support several pilot actions for up to 7 M€ of EU contribution. Projects are expected to start in early 2010.