About

The eParticipation Initiative builds on Commission actions, mainly at the research field, and on the clear support from both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.

The European Commission supported a number of Information Society Technologies research projects on eParticipation during the 5th and 6th Framework Programmes for Research. At the end of 2005, the European Parliament asked the Commission to launch an eParticipation Preparatory Action thus further underlining the importance of this field. In June 2006, the Council of Ministers recognised “the growing interest in eParticipation and the impact of ICT on activities in the political sphere and welcomes its inclusion in the i2010 eGovernment Action Plan;” while inviting the Commission and the Member States to “experiment with innovative eParticipation schemes aiming at increasing participation in democratic processes focusing on tools and addressing citizens’ demands.”

Recent demand for Citizens participation to EU level decisions increases the importance and potential of eParticipation. eParticipation is constantly developing and comprises a variety of areas such as e-consultation, e-legislation, e-petition and e-deliberation. In this context, a significant number of national and regional authorities of the Member States have undertaken actions in these areas and have already launched numerous projects and initiatives with very promising results.

ICTs can empower Citizens to be more involved in the decision-making processes, enabling not only a better and faster decision-making process, increased transparency and accountability, but also encouraging better communication between all parties involved. On the latter point, this can have positive impact on policies from Local to European level and contribute towards achieving the i2010 goals.