Democracy in the European Union

In 2005, the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty in the French and Dutch referendums appeared to confirm that public opinion in Europe had become dramatically detached from the institutions of the Union, and this opened up an institutional crisis. The original design of the European Communities’ competences and decision-making mechanisms reflected a technocratic and functionalist approach, under which Europe’s higher interests were embodied in the Commission, a non-democratic body.

The main mechanisms of democracy in the EU are the popular elections to the European Parliament, and referendums. Voter participation in European elections is consistently lower than that in its national counterparts. The section on participation may help, to further understand this.

However, it is not prevalent to dismiss the EU as wholly un-democratic. The key actors in the EU are state governments, whom are democratically elected. The citizens of EU are concerned with adequate control by national parliaments over the action of governments and administrations within the Council, which constitutes an indirect channel of democratic control over Union decisions. Furthermore, National parliaments play a central role in Treaty passing and approving modifications.

Democratic Deficit

Citizens, Elections and Referendums