What an election thriller! Last week’s presidential elections in Austria kept us all on the edge of our seats in full suspense. And the results were tumultuous: with a very close margin of only 31,000 votes, a far-right xenophobic politician was prevented from getting into power. The results are a proof of how deeply divided Austria, and the whole European Union, have become. And now everyone is looking with anxiety to the next election: will Great Britain vote to leave the European Union?

The biggest problem in Europe today is that the only choice we are given seems to be between ultra pro-European versus radical anti-EU positions. Politicians force us to either accept the current EU with all its deficits, or to go back to our small nation states. Democracy International does not accept this dichotomy – we want an alternative! We want to transform Europe so that it is more democratic and closer to the people.

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We want neither the back room politics of elites and lobbyists in Europe, nor national egoisms of the member states. We want debates that involve all citizens from right across Europe. We demand more democracy, transparency and citizen participation in the EU, which is why we have become active for:
• Participation – We have fought for the European Citizens’ Initiative to let people have an influence on the EU’s agenda; now we are working for the ECI to be enhanced and to have more political power.
• Transparency – Together with the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency & Ethics Regulation (Alter-EU) we are pushing for a mandatory lobby register to put an end to secretive corporate lobbying in Brussels. Through the internet we collected thousands of proposals from citizens for a stronger EU transparency law.
• Democracy – Our aim is to start a constitutional process in Europe so we can all together lay new foundations for a better Europe. We are mobilising for an EU Convention followed by a Europe-wide referendum for a democratic reboot of the EU.
Help us to put an end to top-down elite-driven EU politics and build a Europe of the citizens.
If you support our demands, we need your help to transform Europe. Please strengthen Democracy International with a donation.