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?:abstract
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"With the ratification of the Reform Treaty, the European Union will be
based on two complementary principles: the principle of representative
democracy and the principle of participatory democracy. Even though the
two respective sub-headings in the draft Constitutional Treaty (Article I, 46
and Article I, 47) have been omitted, the Intergovernmental Conference did
not introduce any change in substance. Article 11 of the Reform Treaty
pledges to give citizens and representative associations a voice 'in all areas of
Union action', and to 'maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue
with representative associations and civil society', and it demands that the
Commission 'carry out broad consultations with parties concerned in order
to ensure that the Union's actions are coherent and transparent'. With Clause
4, it now also endows citizens with the right to initiate an action. However,
first, that action is of one type only, i.e., 'where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Treaties'.
Second, that action is valid only when 'not less than one million citizens
who are nationals of a significant number of Member States' engage in it.
Third, and most importantly, that action is only an invitation to the
Commission, one which the Commission is not obliged to accept." (excerpt)
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