Electronic democracy

Recommendation 1860 (2009)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

Assembly debate on 30 January 2009 (9th Sitting) (see Doc. 11783, report of the Political Affairs Committee, rapporteur: Mr Szabó; and Doc. 11810, opinion of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, rapporteur: Mr Höfer). Text adopted by the Assembly on 30 January 2009 (9th Sitting).

Thesaurus

1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution 1653 (2009) on electronic democracy. It also recalls its previous resolutions and recommendations addressing the question of democracy.

2. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers call on member states to give appropriate follow-up to the issues raised in Resolution 1653 (2009) and to take the necessary steps to make full use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the further promotion of e-democracy.

3. The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers, taking advantage of its unique position as a forum for pan-European co-operation, undertake the following actions:

3.1 adopt without delay the draft recommendation on e-democracy submitted by the Ad hoc Committee on E-democracy (CAHDE);

3.2 initiate further reflection and work on the regulatory framework and specific regulations in the field of e-democracy at the pan-European level;

3.3 promote the introduction of e-democracy as complementary to and interlinked with traditional processes of representative democracy in member states;

3.4 support civil society initiatives in this field;

3.5 set up co-operation training and programmes on the use of ICTs in the democratic process;

3.6 compare practical experience in member states with electronic tools for public participation such as e-consultation and participatory budgeting.

4. Moreover, the Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers to provide the necessary resources to implement the above recommendations.