Is the EU Democratic - 1411 Words

The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having â€Å"contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe† (Nobel Media AB, 2012). Despite its struggle for promoting democracy, the EU itself has long experienced scholarly criticisms that it suffers the democratic deficit, from which its democratic legitimacy is undermined by observable problems in†¦show more content†¦Thomassen (2006: 1) notes that the legitimacy of political institutions can be assessed either with normative theories or with substantive evaluation in relation to participants. While the theoretical approaches c an be considered largely relevant to the requirements for founding democracy, the latter shows a considerable resemblance to an analytical approach which divides legitimacy into components of input, output, and throughput, each representing citizens’ demand and initiatives, process of negotiation and revision of legislations, and policies created through the process (Thomassen, 2006: 2-9; Schmidt, 2010). What can be noted from this division of components is that the lack of democracy in any of three components may undermine the legitimacy of the entire system, and that ensuring legitimacy requires the involvement of citizens (Miklà ³s, 2011: 5). In this essay, the issue democratic deficit will thereby be addressed based on such description of the democratic legitimacy which is to be understood with regards to whether the EU institutions and policies appropriately represent citizens and whether its political procedures involve citizens (Peterson, 2005: 1511-1513). Scholarly interests on the EU have not been confined to democratic issues disregarding its importance, as the unique and thus complicated institutional identity of the EU also induced major theoreticalShow MoreRelatedIs the EU Democratic?1488 Words   |  6 PagesThe European Union (EU) is fundamentally democratic and is evident through its institutions, however, the current democratic electoral structure is of great concern. The EU is a new type of political system, often referred to as a sui generis, implying its uniqueness as there exists and a non comparable political body. The EU can neither regarded as a ‘state’ nor as an ‘international institution’ as it combines supranational as well as intergovernmental characteristics (Hix, 1999, p7). In this regardRead MoreEssay On Democratic Deficit In Eu1306 Words   |  6 Pagesdeficit. One is then able to discuss contributing factors which affect the national parliaments lack of importance when creating leg islation and strategies of review such as the subsidiary and proportionality tests. When identifying the presence of a democratic deficit in the European Union, it is important to consider a range of factors, including international treaties and the effect they had on its structured governmental framework. One of the first official agreements established by the European UnionRead More A Democratic Deficit in the EU Essay1430 Words   |  6 PagesA Democratic Deficit in the EU The question over the legitimacy of the EU has been a nearly continuous debate and many commentators appear to agree that the EU suffers from a severe ‘democratic deficit’. There are many reasons why this perception is so widespread. As a multinational body it lacks the grounding in common history and culture upon which most individual polities can draw. However, this should not necessarily disqualify the EU from being treated as a democraticallyRead MoreDemocratic Deficit in the Eu Essay2934 Words   |  12 PagesDoes the EU suffer from a democratic deficit? If so, can it be solved by conferring greater powers on the European parliament? ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- The ‘standard version’ of the democratic deficit formulated by Weiler, consisting of the increased role of the executive Commission in matters of legislation, the weakness of the European Parliament (hereafter the EP), the lack of ‘European’ elections, EU distance toRead MoreIs there a democratic deficit in the EU and if so, how might it be reduced?1300 Words   |  6 PagesIs there a democratic deficit in the EU and if so, how might it be reduced? One of the most controversial debates in the history of European Union (EU) is if there is a democratic deficit in the EU. On the one hand, many scholars argued that the democratic deficit exists in the EU. On the other hand, there are other scholars who claimed that there is not a democratic deficit in the EU. In this essay, the writer will support the argument that the democratic deficit in the EU exists and will proposeRead MoreTackling The Democratic Deficit Between The European Union ( Eu )2859 Words   |  12 Pagestackling the democratic deficit which in the European Union (EU). Apart from the economic issues plaguing the EU, which is most discussed topic, the issue of its democratic deficiency remains undebated. Democracy deficit in the EU in its ordinary meaning means that there is gap between the EU institutions and citizens in the member states of the EU. Recommendations have been put forward to bridge the gap between the EU’s institutions and the citizens in the member nations of the EU. These rangeRead MoreThe European Council And The Council Of Ministers1345 Words   |  6 PagesEuropean Council and the Council of Ministers are the best way to ensure democracy in the EU.’ Do you agree? Illustrate your answer with examples. A democratic legislature requires law-makers to be elected by its citizens and present as their representatives. The significance of democratic values in the EU governance. The democratic foundations of the EU have been defined in the Treaty of Lisbon – democratic equality, representative democracy and participatory democracy. Throughout the last fewRead MoreA Democratic Deficit Within The European Union Essay1423 Words   |  6 PagesThe claims that within the EU there is a democratic deficit, because there are extensive powers being accumulated by institutions that appear to lack a satisfactory level of legitimacy, are cogent. The question of is there a democratic deficit within the EU, despite having dominated many political debates since the 70s, is prominent in today s society now more than ever as a result of the UKs decision to leave the union, consequently causing the world to develop an growing interest in the EuropeanRead MoreThe European Union ( Eu )1339 Words   |  6 PagesThe European Union (EU) has a variety of methods to promote democracy beyond its borders. It is the contention of this paper that EU democracy-promotion policies are more significant in the context of a pre-accession conditionality. The success of EU democracy promotion is contingent upon the degree of bargaining power the EU possesses vis-à  -vis ‘third countries’ (third countries being those which seek EU membership, and are prepared to make the necessary political and economic reforms). In the contextRead MoreThe Eu Law Making Process1308 Words   |  6 PagesHowever, only 34% turned out to vote at the last EU election which implied a growing dissent in Europe. The EU is described as â€Å"undemocratic from the start†. The gist of the question is whether the EU law-making process is sufficiently democratic. EU’s democratic performance should be judged on the basis of subsidiarity, representativeness, accountability and engagement. 1.1 Democratic Deficit 1.1.1 Commission’s monopoly Firstly, there is democratic deficit as the Commission is not democratically