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Recommendation 1928 (2010) Final version
Democracy in Europe: crisis and perspectives
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers
to its Resolution 1746
(2010) on democracy in Europe: crisis and perspectives, in
which it notes with concern that the recent world economic crisis
has accentuated symptoms of a crisis of democracy which have been
present for some time now, including the lack of rules and regulations to
help face the challenges of globalisation and increased disinterest
of citizens in current institutionalised procedures of democracy.
2. The Assembly considers that the ensuing crisis in representation
can be overcome through an enhanced process of participatory democracy
and the development of a new culture of political responsibility
in terms of responsiveness and accountability, as well as transparency
on the part of those who govern.
3. Considering that the right to participate in the conduct of
public affairs, be it at local, regional, national or European levels,
is a human right and a fundamental political freedom, the Assembly
has decided to undertake further reflection, in close consultation
with the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission),
with a view to elaborating an additional protocol to the European
Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) guaranteeing this right.
It has also resolved to organise open public debates in the context
of the drafting process of the new protocol before proposing a draft
text to the Committee of Ministers, so that this process offers
an opportunity to promote public discourse and raise awareness on
the need to increase citizens’ active participation and ensure further
involvement of all people in the conduct of public affairs.
4. The Assembly, recalling its earlier proposal in Resolution 1886 (2009) on the future of the Council of Europe in the light
of its sixty years of experience, and reiterating that, among the
three main pillars of the Council of Europe, the democracy pillar
of the Organisation needs to be strengthened and to gain in visibility, recommends
the Committee of Ministers to:
4.1. set
up a Strasbourg Democracy Forum as an umbrella structure with a
view to providing an international reference and a laboratory for
new ideas and proposals in the field of democracy, as well as developing
synergies among relevant Council of Europe structures and activities,
such as the Forum for the Future of Democracy, the biennial Assembly
debates on the state of democracy, the Venice Commission, the Summer
University of Democracy and the Schools of Political Studies Network;
4.2. entrust to a high-profile personality, a sort of a delegate
for democracy, the task of leading and animating the Strasbourg
Democracy Forum, as well as disseminating, on a permanent basis,
the Council of Europe’s message on democracy-related issues of major
current interest.
5. The Assembly also invites the Committee of Ministers to contribute,
along with other actors and in particular the European Union, to
the elaboration of guidelines to regulate globalisation in full
respect of human rights, including social rights, ecological imperatives
and the rule of law.