Parlamentet og EU’s demokrati

EU i undervisningen – sådan! DEO konference, 30 januar 2014Laura Horn, Roskilde Universitet

OutlineDemocracy in the EU - Crisis of the EU, crisis of democracy? - Perspectives on the ’democratic deficit’?

Representative democracy and the role of the European Parliament (EP)

A few points about the 2014 elections

Signs of a democratic crisis?

- Institutional set-up (e.g. balance of power between legislative, executive and judiciary)

- Functional indicators, e.g. electoral turn-out

- Still lack of a European public sphere and significant European civil society

- Increasing political, economic and social conflicts between Member States

- Lack of solidarity between European citizens

Perspectives on democracy in the EU

Democratic dimension of the EU institutions/apparatus (input/output legitimacy, accountability, transparency?) AND

Democracy in the Members of the EU – and beyond! (e.g.new member states, democracy promotion)

Different perspectives, e.g.:• ’Standard model’ of representative (post) national democracy- Incremental federalism, ’towards ever closer union’ • Cosmopolitan democracy – beyond the nation state, transnational citizenship,

new forms of political participation

Problems with ’standard model’ e.g. - Equal representation of Member States- No possibility to replace incumbent EU leaders/politicians

Key question – can we apply the standards of national-level democracy to the EU?

Representative democracy in the EU

EP elections still low salience (’second-order national elections’) for electorate, often more volatile (i.e. vote-switching)

Fragmented along national lines, alliance politics and not sufficient democratic legitimacy?

Role of Europarties and party groups

The EP in the context of Eurozone crisis ?

Lisbon Treaty as an attempt to democratise the EU’This treaty marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer

union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as openly as possible, and a closely as possible to the citizens’ (Art 1)

2014 EP election8th (!) direct elections, taking place betweem 22-25 May

(set by each MS)New features (Lisbon Treaty): - Budgetary and legislative powers widened- Currently 766 MEPS (754 + 12 for Croatia), after

elections reduced to 751- Expected high turnover for MEPs- EP elects EC president (hence the earlier election

date) - to take office 1 November

- Increase in eurosceptic parties in EP?

Questions/comments?Please get in touch

Laura Horn, lhorn@ruc.dk

We’re also planning a series of discussion evening in Roskilde (Stændertorvet) in March and April, come and

join us!