Europe's Democratic Deficit
How the European Union's bureaucracy snuffs out
democracy
Piotr Brzezinski
4/28/06
On Feb. 20, Spain became the first member of the
European Union to ratify the European Constitution by
national referendum. Although to the European Union
may seem unified and cohesive to outsiders, it is
actually a complex and troubled bureaucracy.
The E.U.'s internal structure is so convoluted that
few Europeans actually understand it. Most decisions
are made without any direct input from European
citizens, leading to a substantial disconnect between
the people of Europe and their government. As Harvard
professor Kathrina Zippel, an E.U. specialist, told
the HPR, "the main issue is legitimacy and
accountability...a problem of a perceived lack of
democracy and transparency in the decision making
process in the E.U."
The proposed European Constitution has some measures
to bridge this democratic shortfall. It further
empowers the European Parliament-the one body which
directly represents the European people-by extending
its legislative mandate to justice, agriculture, and
budgetary matters, all from which it used to be
excluded. But most E.U. institutions are still only
indirectly democratic; European citizens can influence
the other branches of the E.U., like the more powerful
European Council, only through their national
governments.
Even the European Parliament has lacked much
democratic legitimacy. Turnout for parliamentary
elections has fallen in every election since the first
in 1979. According to Eurobarometer surveys, over 50
percent of citizens believe that the Parliament does
not deal with citizens' concerns, and over 50 percent
said that they lack information on the elections. Only
35 percent consider themselves well-represented by the
European Parliament.
Suggestions for improvement range from promoting civic
awareness about E.U. governance to increasing
bureaucratic transparency. European leaders have
acknowledged that the perceived democratic deficit is
a serious problem for the union, but it remains to be
seen if the new Constitution will usher in a new era
of democratic engagement and E.U. legitimacy.
© Copyright 2006 The Harvard Political Review