The involvement of the public in the Green Deal's regulatory process: an appeal to people as "citizens"

The paper intends to clarify the conception of public involvement that seems to underlie the Green Deal’s regulatory process, in particular in which way the public is involved and what is the function of this involvement. Taking into account a number of recent Commission’s documents, three different ways in which the Commission intends to involve the public can be identified: “bottom-up” ways of involvement; participation in the development and implementation of policies; empowerment through access to administrative and judicial review. The “bottom-up” involvement aims to create a “sounding board” to amplify the pressure of problems, while participation in the development and implementation of EU policies plays an important legitimising function. Moreover, access to justice aims to empower individuals, making them the «watchdogs in the democratic space». The Commission also suggests that these forms of involvement are something different from the past, a change of perspective in the EU’s approach to its citizens. For example, on the occasion of the inauguration of the European Climate Pact, Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the Commission, spoke about a Pact which «appeals to people as citizens and not as consumers». Therefore, this analysis aims at understanding if the EU is really moving towards a novel conception of public involvement.