As one of the EU's key tools for participatory democracy, the European citizens' initiative (ECI) allows citizens to call directly on the European Commission to propose new laws in areas where the EU has competence. Since its launch, the ECI has given Europeans a stronger voice in shaping Union...

As China advances toward its "Dual Carbon" goals, clarifying the role of the digital economy (DE) in reducing urban carbon emissions is of growing importance. This study uses panel data from 274 Chinese prefecture-level cities (2011-2022) and applies benchmark regression, the Spatial Durbin...