European Commission vice-president Viviane Reding has proposed to extend EU nationals' welfare rights despite a warning on "benefit tourism" by major EU countries. Ministers from Austria, Germany, Netherlands, and the ...

While EU leaders met in Brussels for their traditional spring summit, thousands of trade unionists staged an afternoon of events to protest against austerity measures.

The "European Year of the Citizens" in 2013 will put a spotlight on one of the hardest-fought-for EU reforms, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI). This new instrument - which says that if 1 million EU citizens from ...

The expectations attached to the EU’s new participatory democracy tool are high. The European Citizens Initiative (ECI), allowing citizens to influence EU law-making, is seen as the most significant democratic reform in ...

Swedish Pirate party MEP Christian Engstrom has little interest in economics or foreign affairs. The former computer engineer is concentrating his energy on stopping the EU parliament from adopting the Acta treaty on ...

Negotiators remain far apart on new rules to govern which internal EU documents can be released for public scrutiny. Jakob Alvi, the Danish EU presidency spokesman, told EUobserver on Tuesday (22 May) that member states ...

The economic crisis has shaken citizens' trust in EU institutions, says Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros, who recently hosted a conference designed to give citizens access to the Union's key decision-makers. An Athens ...

There is no doubt that history was made on Europe Day in 2012. It marked the first time a direct, transnational and digital tool of formal citizen participation came into operation. But the first European Citizens ...

People from all over the world are expected to take to the streets on 12 May to celebrate the first anniversary of the Spanish 'indignado' movement protesting economic austerity measures. Brussels-based 'indignados' ...

Most member states and EU institutions are keen to draw a new veil of secrecy over how they appoint top officials and enforce EU law. The rights of journalists, NGOs and average people to get access to internal EU ...

On 1 April a new participative democracy tool came into effect in the European Union. The European Citizen's Initiative is being hailed as a potential breakthrough moment for relations between the Union and citizens. ...

The European Commission will on Wednesday (28 March) unveil plans for the setting up of a European cybercrime centre meant to identify the most dangerous cyber threats as well as support member states work in the area ...

The first formal attempt by European citizens to have a say in EU policy-making is likely to centre around securing a promise from Brussels to never privatise water. "We are planning to launch on the 1st April at ...

Two and a half million people signed a petition this week urging the European Parliament to say 'no' to the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement, Acta. The multinational treaty - which among other things aims to protect ...

With just weeks until to go until the EU dips its toe into the unpredictable world of participatory democracy, internet giants are warning the European Commission it had better be prepared for scrutiny by a critical and ...

Europe is entering a very difficult period in its history, says newly elected Liberal Democrat and Reform Party leader, Sir Graham Watson, but Germany has the power to stop the eurozone crisis.

The eurozone crisis is yet again a painful reminder of how challenging it is to reconcile democracy and capitalism when the political institutions are lacking. It is now the self-appointed troika - the IMF, the European ...

"Greek people don't want any more loans", says Yiorgos Vassalos from the Greek solidarity movement in Brussels. Belgian police have water canons parked a stones throw from the protesters, who have been joined by some of ...

After walking for two and a half months, about 300 "indignados" arrived in Brussels this weekend to lobby the European institutions and protest against unemployment and welfare cuts. Although the original plan was for ...

The largest meeting to take place under the Polish Presidency will in all likelihood be a group you have never heard of. Hundreds of participants gather in Warsaw Monday (3 October) for the plenary meeting of COSAC, the ...