Standardy konsultacji z zainteresowanymi stronami. Nowe wytyczne Komisji Europejskiej

The process of consultations with civil society is important as it contributes to a transparent legislative process and a good balance of interests in the legislative proposals. In the European Union works on the consultations with stakeholders have accelerated with the publication of the White Paper on European Governance in 2001. In Poland, we have been observing a number of initiatives concerning public consultations and dialogue with civil society in recent years, both on the side of the central administration and the non-governmental organisations. In this context, the analysis of the European consultation standards is even more important. It seems that the European experience in that area constitutes a good reference for the national solutions. This article analyses the EU standards concerning the process of consultations with interested parties. Having in mind effectiveness of EU lobbying groups as well as certain weak points of the Commission consultation process, this article seeks, in particular, to evaluate the Commission new “Stakeholder Consultation Guidelines”. The article concludes also with some reflections on how the EU standards could apply for the Polish consultation practices in the legislative works.