European Supranational Democracy as a Model for Citizens’ Participation beyond Borders

It will address the issues of citizens’ participation across borders, through popular vote for a supranational Parliament and transnational participation beyond the vote, through instruments such as the European Citizens’ Initiative and innovative experiments in deliberative democracy such as the European Citizens’ Panels – which paved the road for a possible future European Citizens’ Assembly- as well as others on which the discussion is still ongoing (from the Pan-European Referendum to Participatory Budgeting) . It will also explore how this complex ecosystem of democracy that is both transnational and supranational at the same time – and that is now attempting to combine representative elements with ‘direct’ and ‘participatory’ elements – is increasingly inspiring other areas of the world that are attempting, inspired by the European Union, similar processes of macro-regional integration (Mercosur, African Union, Asean…), as well as how this model can also be scaled up to the global level, in the perspective of a full global democracy of institutions and citizens, combining representative with deliberative-participatory democracy.