- Preface
- New to this edition
- Brexit Late News
- List of figures
- List of boxes
- List of tables
- List of contributors
- List of abbreviations
- How to use the online resources
- 1. Introduction
- Part 1 The Historical Context
- 2. The European Union: Establishment and Development
- 3. From the Constitutional Treaty to the Treaty of Lisbon and Beyond
- Part 2 Theories and Conceptual Approaches
- 4. Neo-functionalism
- 5. Intergovernmentalism
- 6. Theorizing the European Union after Integration Theory
- 7. Governance in the European Union
- 8. Europeanization
- 9. Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union
- Part 3 Institutions and Actors
- 10. The European Commission
- 11. The European Council and the Council of the European Union
- 12. The European Parliament
- 13. The Court of Justice of the European Union
- 14. Interest Groups and the European Union
- 15. Citizens and Public Opinion in the European Union
- Part 4 Policies and Policy-making
- 16. Policy-making in the European Union
- 17. Trade and Development Policies
- 18. Enlargement
- 19. The European Union’s Foreign, Security, and Defence Policies
- 20. The Single Market
- 21. The European Union’s Social Dimension
- 22. The Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice
- 23. Economic and Monetary Union
- 24. The Common Agricultural Policy
- 25. Environmental Policy
- Part 5 Issues and Debates
- 26. The Euro Crisis and European Integration
- 27. Brexit
- 28. The Future of the EU
- Glossary
- References
- Appendix—Brexit supplement
- References
- Index
(p. 127) 9. Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union
- Chapter:
- (p. 127) 9. Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union
- Author(s):
Stijn Smismans
- DOI:
- 10.1093/hepl/9780198806530.003.0009
This chapter discusses the extent to which decision-making in the European Union can be considered democratic and legitimate. The chapter clarifies the concepts ‘democracy’ and ‘legitimacy’, and describes how, although initially the legitimacy of the European polity was not perceived as a problem, it became more problematic as the EU gained more competences. The European democratic deficit became an important issue of debate only during the 1990s after the Maastricht Treaty had transferred considerable powers to the EU. The main solution to the democratic deficit has been inspired by the parliamentary model of democracy and involves strengthening the European Parliament (EP), while also paying attention to the role of national parliaments and regional and local authorities. The chapter also shows how the governance debate at the start of the twenty-first century broadened the conceptual understanding of democracy in the EU by addressing the complexity of European governance (see also Chapter 7). By looking at different stages of policy-making and different modes of governance, while dealing with issues such as transparency and the role of civil society, the chapter discusses a wider range of issues associated with the democracy and legitimacy of the Union. It assesses the impact on EU democracy of the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty. The chapter concludes by warning that three main crises, namely the economic, migration, and security crises, have revived nationalist and populist movements exacerbating the challenges to the EU’s legitimacy.
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- Preface
- New to this edition
- Brexit Late News
- List of figures
- List of boxes
- List of tables
- List of contributors
- List of abbreviations
- How to use the online resources
- 1. Introduction
- Part 1 The Historical Context
- 2. The European Union: Establishment and Development
- 3. From the Constitutional Treaty to the Treaty of Lisbon and Beyond
- Part 2 Theories and Conceptual Approaches
- 4. Neo-functionalism
- 5. Intergovernmentalism
- 6. Theorizing the European Union after Integration Theory
- 7. Governance in the European Union
- 8. Europeanization
- 9. Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union
- Part 3 Institutions and Actors
- 10. The European Commission
- 11. The European Council and the Council of the European Union
- 12. The European Parliament
- 13. The Court of Justice of the European Union
- 14. Interest Groups and the European Union
- 15. Citizens and Public Opinion in the European Union
- Part 4 Policies and Policy-making
- 16. Policy-making in the European Union
- 17. Trade and Development Policies
- 18. Enlargement
- 19. The European Union’s Foreign, Security, and Defence Policies
- 20. The Single Market
- 21. The European Union’s Social Dimension
- 22. The Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice
- 23. Economic and Monetary Union
- 24. The Common Agricultural Policy
- 25. Environmental Policy
- Part 5 Issues and Debates
- 26. The Euro Crisis and European Integration
- 27. Brexit
- 28. The Future of the EU
- Glossary
- References
- Appendix—Brexit supplement
- References
- Index