A democratic society is characterized by the people’s electoral will. The quality of democracy is determined by the sovereign action of its citizens and the level of human rights protection. It is worth mentioning that Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human and Civil Rights (1789) notes: “Any society in which no provision is made for guaranteeing rights or for the separation of powers, has no Constitution”. In the European Union context, the role of the citizen has been enhanced by the Lisbon Treaty (Title II Provisions on democratic principles). Actions have been taken to encourage citizen participation and eliminate the democratic deficit as well.
Therefore, during the last decade the European edifice has been severely shaken by the global financial crisis. That seismic tremble has been transferred to the citizens who seem to be utterly lost inside a labyrinth. According to the standard Eurobarometer survey of 2017, 50% of Europeans feel that they have no influence on EU policy and decision making, while 44 % feel they do, and 6 % answer that they do not know. Bearing this in mind, one could wonder: what is the role of the European citizen today?
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