Evaluation of public consultations and citizens' participation in 2015 Better Regulation Agenda of the EU and the need for a deliberative e-rulemaking initiative in the EU
Deligiaouri, AnastasiaORCID: 0000-0002-3517-6212 and Suiter, JaneORCID: 0000-0002-2747-8069
(2020)
Evaluation of public consultations and citizens' participation in 2015 Better Regulation Agenda of the EU and the need for a deliberative e-rulemaking initiative in the EU.
European Politics And Society, 22
(1).
pp. 69-87.
ISSN 2374-5118
This paper connects and disentangles three interrelated concepts: citizens’ participation; erulemaking (in a deliberative environment) and effective policymaking at the EU level. We
critically evaluate public participation under the revamped 2015 ‘Better Regulation Agenda’
by focusing on the public consultations tool; examining it through the lens of deliberative
democratic legitimacy; and assessing its potential to be more deliberative following the
legitimacy evaluation framework of Schmidt (2013). The paper employs an innovative
theoretical approach, which blends deliberative democracy, e-rulemaking with EU studies
insights. Furthermore, it introduces a new legitimacy criterion we call ‘functional legitimacy’
which refers to an overarching principle and evaluative framework that should govern erulemaking initiatives from their design through implementation and evaluation. We examine
the preconditions for e-rulemaking at the EU level on the principles of transparency,
inclusiveness and evidence-based policy making.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Additional Information:
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the PSA Annual International Conference, Nottingham, 15–17 April 2019.