Meant to bring everyday Europeans closer to the E.U. institutions that govern them in distant Brussels, the direct democracy experiment allows citizens to sling their concerns onto the E.U. agenda. The principle is simple: if campaigners muster 1 million signatures for a proposal, they can ask the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive branch, to write new legislation. The new system has received a cautious welcome from Europeans. A group representing thousands of non-governmental organizations, including Greenpeace, the European Trade Union Confederation and the European Women's Lobby hailed it as "an important new step to increase public participation in E.U. decision-making."
To read the complete story please visit Time.Com.
Meant to bring everyday Europeans closer to the E.U. institutions that govern them in distant Brussels, the direct democracy experiment allows citizens to sling their concerns onto the E.U. agenda. The principle is simple: if campaigners muster 1 million signatures for a proposal, they can ask the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive branch, to write new legislation. The new system has received a cautious welcome from Europeans. A group representing thousands of non-governmental organizations, including Greenpeace, the European Trade Union Confederation and the European Women's Lobby hailed it as "an important new step to increase public participation in E.U. decision-making."
To read the complete story please visit Time.Com.