What does the European Union’s so-called ‘democratic deficit’ stem from, and how could it be tackled?

Résumé du document

One of the most important discussions in the modern-day European Union concerns the democratic deficit. The Maastricht treaty, which was signed on February 1992 by different European states, claims that the goal the EU is to create ‘an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen' (John, McCormick 2005, 131). However, opinions polls show that a large majority of citizens find Europe less satisfactory that their own states as far democratic functioning is concerned (Paul, Magnette 2005, 167).This paper considers the following questions: What does the European Union's so-called ‘democratic deficit' stem from, and how could it be tackled? The relevant literature yields more than a dozen definitions of “democratic deficit”, all resting on the same basic assumptions about the origins of the problem (Stelios, Stavridis et all. 1997, 72-3).

Extraits

[...] European Citizenship, Multiculturalmism, and the State, pp.87-104. Baden: Die Deutsche Bibliothek. Lodge, Juliet “Democracy in the EU: the Inter-relationship between Supranational, National and Subnational Levels of Governement'' in Telo, Mario, eds., Democratie et Construction européenne, pp. 240-250. Brussels : Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles. Lodge, Juliet “Euro-Elections 2004- A defining Point in European Integration in Lodge, Juliet, eds. The 2004 Elections to the European Parliament, pp.3-7. Chippenham : Palgrave MacMillan. Louis, Jean-Victor constitution de l'Union européenne'' in Telo, Mario, eds., Democratie et Construction européenne, pp. [...]

[...] Brussels : Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles. Tsoukalis, Loukas What kind of Europe? Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ziller, Jacques The European Constitution. Paris: La Découverte. Sources from Internet McLean, Iain and McMillan, Alistair “Oxford reference online Premium: the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics”, http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t86&authstat uscode=202. Centre des Etudes Européennes de Strasbourgs “Voter turnout in European election lower than http://www.euractiv.com/en/elections/voter-turnout-european-election- lower/article-117868. [...]

[...] Election of the Commission: If the European Union wants to be more democratic, the Commission has to be directly elected by EU citizens and not merely proposed by national governments and approved by the European Parliament. More power for the European Parliament: Currently the European Parliament does not have huge power, despite the fact that it is elected by European citizens (Juliet, Lodge 2005, 8-17). A new legislative procedure needs to be introduced, granting the European Parliament the right to an unconditional veto in certain policy areas, and greater control in the form of legislative and budgetary powers equivalent to those of the national parliaments (Stelios Stavridis et all 1997, 79). [...]

[...] Conselheiro, Luis Nunes de Almeida “Welcome : The European Constitution” in Pernice, Ingolf and Maduro, Miguel Poiares, eds. A Constitution for the European Union : First Comments on the 2003-Draft of the European Convention, pp.11-2. Baden: Die Deutsche Bibliothek. Corbett, Richard “European Parliament” in Lodge, Juliet, eds. The 2004 Elections to the European Parliament, pp.8-17. Chippenham : Palgrave MacMillan. De Giovanni, B “Pourquoi une constitution européenne'' in Telo, Mario, eds., Democratie et Construction européenne, pp. 339-344. Brussels : Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles. [...]

[...] The greater the number of eurosceptics, the more abstentions there will be in EU elections. Eurosceptics are particularly concerned about a perceived loss of national sovereignty and the constraints imposed by European rules and institutions (Anthony, Forster 2002, A lack of the feeling of European citizenship: The main problems for the supranationalist ambitions of the EU are the strength of national identities and the weakness of a European identity, the feeling that there is a deficit of democracy within the EU and the sense of a corresponding lack of legitimation for European institutions (Denis, Smith and Sue, Wright 1999, 126). [...]