Panagiotis Grigoriou, Professor of International and European Institutions at the University of the Aegean and holder of the Jean Monnet European Chair “Europi Politis” aims to highlight in academia and in the wider society the importance of strengthening participatory democracy in the context of the European process. In overseeing the editing of this edited volume, the eminent academic speaks profoundly about the birth of a European dialogue and the importance of national dynamics of European synthesis.

In her turn, Katerina Apostolidou, a lawyer and PhD in Sociology with postgraduate studies in Sociology and Public Administration, deals with the burning issues of European citizens’ trust in democracy and tries to detect if there is a European social model.

Dr. Vera Spyrakou (Associate Professor at the Department of International, European and Regional Studies of Panteion University), examines with a comparative and critical approach the key issues concerning the role of the citizen in the European Union and his direct relationship with the political processes of the Union. It also examines the particular role of European elections in European democratic cohesion in relation to the political identity of its parties.

Finally, Marina Zoi Saoulidou, PhD in Comparative Politics from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the University of Athens, reflects on the transition from the economic and monetary integration of the European Union to the concepts of social Europe and the Europe of solidarity.

As Professor Panagiotis Gregoriou concludes in his introductory remarks: “We believe that Europi Politis has the capacity to serve both democracy and the rule of law. It is the guarantor of the relationship between the rule of law and democracy. It draws the fundamental distinction between the ‘rule of law’, where the law is the instrument of the power exercised, and thus the government places itself improperly above the law, and that of the ‘rule of law’, which implies that all members of a democratically organised society are subject to the law, including of course the government. In essence, Europi Politis, by placing constitutional constraints on the exercise of power in the Union context, introduces an essential aspect of democracy by requiring adherence to the rule of law. It is an essential recognition of the common European project, of the whole path of the European journey and, above all, of the aim of European federalism.”