However, this experiment took place because of the stalemate between the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and the European Parliament, regarding the aims of the CoFoE. [...] These member states are traditionally against the strengthening of the political character of the EU, and shared a reciprocal understanding of the EU prior to their joining the integration process, having been members of organizations of economic cooperation outside the EU single market. [...] If that is the case, what would it be the outcome? The sovereignist position would lead to the differentiated disintegration of the EU, which is the other face of the process of differentiated integration. [...] But, not withstanding all the challenges and imperfections that were exacerbated by a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, being the world’s largest exercise in participatory democracy, CoFoE actually confounded its critics, in that it created a momentum and demonstrated a desire amongst citizens from across the EU to input and shape the direction, the form, and the type of the EU they want to liv. [...] In terms of the process, there were issues re- lated to the lack of awareness or knowledge on the part of the citizens participating that, in many cases, the European Parlia- ment or the Commission was already undertaking various ini- tiatives related to the discussions, or that they could not 24 Ευρωπαϊκοί θεσμοί & πολιτικές do so, based on the existing structure of the EU.
- Pages
- 468
- Published in
- Greece
