Report of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe on “Strengthening democracy through participatory and deliberative processes”.

Innovative practices are needed in order to counter and revert the backsliding of democracy in Europe. Participatory and deliberative democracy processes can contribute to rekindling citizens’ trust in public authorities and strengthening their political engagement, including their participation in decision-making processes, in complementarity with representative institutions.

The Council of Europe is a pioneer in the development of standards related to participatory and deliberative democracy, and supports them at national, regional and local levels.

Member and observer States should further promote, design and adopt participatory and deliberative democracy processes at all levels, in accordance with the relevant standards. They should also ensure that the appropriate legislative framework and human, financial and technical resources are in place.