Abstract
The main aim of this chapter is to map dominant discourses on political participation and active citizenship emerging at the European level by looking at policies targeting traditionally marginalised groups (such as women, young people, minorities and migrants). In particular, we will establish whether new rules, procedures and norms aimed at engaging civil society in the policy-making process are under construction/established, by framing the actual position of the European institutions in developing the policy agenda. For these reasons the chapter is focused on the emerging discourses representing specifi c policy frames in the three subgroups. The analysis presented here is based on a policy analysis of public documents published by the European Commission in the period of time 2004–10. This time frame has been chosen because of its relevance for the enhancement and shaping of specifi c policies of active citizenship by the European Union. This broader discourse, as we argue in the chapter, has emerged for two reasons. First of all, it represents an attempt to overcome the limitations that can be found in the status of European citizenship formalised by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. Second, it has been shaped by the need to ensure the full implementation of the governance reform started by the European Commission in 2001. This established a European project based on citizens’ full engagement and participation in a system of deliberative democracy and entailed the fostering of a broad European civil society.