ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a general evaluation of the deliberativeness of the different phases of the consultation and assesses to what extent the democratic objectives of European citizens' consultation (ECC09) were met. ECC09 aims to be a strongly visible and inclusive consultation, to promote deliberative debates, to deliver influential proposals, and to increase trust in European Union (EU) institutions. The chapter discusses the way the consultation is organized in relation to the other existing consultative processes. It examines the findings concerning the deliberativeness of the web-debates and of the face-to-face debates that occurred during the 27 national consultations. The analysis is based on original data stemming from the scientific evaluation report commissioned by the King Baudouin Foundation. The European citizens' consultation 2009 is however a particular type of mini-public. The main reason for implementing the online discursive platform was to render the consultation more inclusive by offering the possibility to all EU citizens to participate in the consultation.
