17/10/2008 Political Affairs and Democracy
At the end of the Council of Europe Forum on the Future of Democracy, participants today welcomed the current work of the Parliamentary Assembly on e-democracy and called on it to “take further initiatives”, in particular with regard to e-parliament as a way to “help parliaments at all levels, as well as elected representatives, to better fulfil their role as representatives of the people”. E-democracy, they said, “can help to restore the declining interest in politics and the democratic process”.
The Forum called on European governments to initiate work on regulation in the field of e-democracy. “As a means of building trust among the people, regulation in the field of e-democracy can take the form of public regulation, co-regulation and self-regulation, as well as international standard-setting.” Regulatory action, it said, may also be taken in respect of internet governance.
Given the various approaches on e-democracy, the Forum called upon representative assemblies, governments and the business sector, as well as international institutions, to encourage and fund research on this topic.
The Forum encouraged the Council of Europe to maintain its prominent role in the field of e-voting, thereby providing a platform for discussion and exchange of experience, and a standard-setting body.