Under the Lisbon Treaty, the functioning of the European Union shall continue to be founded on "representative democracy" and European citizens will continue to be directly represented at Union level in the European Parliament.
Lissaboni lepingu kohaselt toimib Euroopa Liit ka edaspidi esindusdemokraatia alusel ja Euroopa kodanike otsene esindatus liidu tasandil jätkub Euroopa Parlamendis.