Participatory Democracy in 5 points

Participatory democracy is now an integral part of the European model of society. The Lisbon Treaty enshrines the complementarity between representative democracy and participatory democracy. The Treaty also confers upon citizens 'the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union' and stipulates that 'decisions shall be taken as openly and as closely as possible to the citizen'. Thus, participation becomes a civic right and subsidiarity becomes a pillar of participatory democracy.