The European Union

The democratic deficit is a theory developed by scholars in order to illustrate that the European Union and its institutional bodies suffer from a lack of democracy (Wincott, 1998, p. 414). However, there are many definitions of the democratic deficit (Chryssochoou, 2000; Justice, 1996; Warleigh, 2003; Weiler, Haltern & Mayer, 1995) depending on the views and approaches of each scholar. Joseph Weiler's ‘standard version' of the democratic deficit is one of the most common definitions and it is a set of widely-used arguments by academics, scholars and the media (Weiler et al., 1995, cited by Follesdal & Hix, 2005, p. 4). It consists of five claims that explain why the EU can be called undemocratic and they are the following: a) there is an

Interest groups maintain the capacity to speak for citizens who have these other main priorities ensuring that their opinions and interest are represented within the European Union. This utility goes a long way towards reducing the democratic deficit of the Union. Although the public may not have time or energy to direct their interests to their representatives, so long as they know that there is a group or organization representing their interests in Brussels, they may be more inclined to view the Union as democratic.

EP elections are a key ingredient in the debate over the democratic deficit in the EU. Generally this debate concerns the distance of EU institutions from ordinary citizens and the need for more direct citizen input into the EU decision-making institutions.

Nowadays, European Union is not a state; it can be defined as an association of corporate bodies, including the part states and the European Institutions .It has built up another sort of political framework that goes past the traditional intergovernmentalism and has considerable components of supra-nationality. Before it was made, it was almost impossible to develop a political arrangement of majority rule administration separated from the institutionalized country state model.The improvement of the Union has

The 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 European Union and its qualities. Despite being a relatively common question, it is important to understand exactly what the EU is and what is meant by the term ‘democratic deficit’. The European Union was formed after World War 2 and stands today as a politico-economic Union made up of 28 countries who exercise their power over European institutions and operate as a single market for trade allowing for the free movement of goods, services, capital and people between member states. More so, the term democratic deficit in relation to the EU refers to the belief that not all European citizens are equally represented politically by the government responsible for doing so and questioning the legitimacy of those within the EU with power.

One of the sources examined in this paper was that of Giandomenico Majone’s article “Europe’s ‘Democratic Deficit’: The Question of Standards”. This article’s purpose was to factor in what definition was to be used for the democratic deficit. In this article Majone separates the two parties influenced by the democratic deficit: The European Community (EC) and the European Union (EU). The democratic deficit then that is used for this paper is taken strictly from the definition used by Majone, “Technocratic decision-making, lack of transparency, insufficient public participation, excessive use of administrative discretion, inadequate mechanisms of control and accountability – that arise whenever important policymaking powers are delegated to

A legislative process where there is a lack of transparency and accountability creates a democratic deficit. A democratic deficit (or democracy deficit) occurs when presumably democratic organisations or institutions (particularly governing institute) fall short of fulfilling the principles of democracy in their practices or operation where representative and linked parliamentary integrity becomes widely discussed. As far as lack of democracy is concern at European Union, it was first cited by a by Young European Federalists in their manifesto at that time. European Union was formed in order to create an everlasting relation within in its state. It is worth remembering the EU is a supranational state of unprecedented model. It is also worth remembering that EU initially was formed only to enhance collaboration within few financial interests and democracy was not the goal it thrived for. This initial goal has slightly been over shadowed by some critics of its undemocratic status. This issue has somewhat cause the estrangement within the EU states. There have been calls for EU to involve its citizen more and more into their decision making. Although considerable efforts are made throughout its history but one might argue that EU could have done more in order to make it more transparent in last half a century.

For example, a central element of a democracy is the ability for voters to change the party or government in control; however, in the European Union, the legislature consists of the Parliament, Commission and the Council. Considering the Parliament is the only one which has any connection to citizen elections, any change in the composition of the European Union would be ineffective in bringing about substantive transformation. In addition, in comparing the EU to a traditional democratic system in which MPs are elected by the people and responsible for the people, in the European Union, people do not enjoy this direct representation.

This essay seeks to identify, define and offer practical solutions to tackling the democratic deficit which in the European Union (EU).

When analysing the system of the EU on grounds of its democratic legitimacy it is important to define democracy itself. Democracy is a value-laden term that has various meanings and comes in different shapes (e.g. representative vs. direct democracy). As none of the member states in the EU practices direct democracy to a mentionable extent it would not be suitable to assess the EU on terms of direct democratic participation. A reasonable

There are few glaring events that will go down in history as the defining geopolitical events of this century. Great Brittan’s recent results from a referendum heldon on June 23, 2016 to decide if it should leave the European Union (EU) is one such glaring event. Brexit, the acronym for this referendum, is synonymous with the contemporary populist sentiment supporting nationalism, economic autonomy, curbing immigration, and defying elitist politicians who do not understand the reality of the working classes. As a result of feelings of lost power and economic insecurity by the working class people, the citizens of Britain voted 52% to 48% to leave the EU in hopes of industrial reform. It was a surprise even to those who voted yes to the referendum. Britten has a new Prime Minister, Theresa May, who still needs to work out how the exit will be negotiated within a two year time period.

Around the turn of the millennium political leaders around Europe were challenged by two antithetical developments within their societies. On one side, the European citizens rely on them to handle and solve the major contemporary political issues (e.g. unemployment, peace- and safekeeping). On the other side, increasing distrust and indifference concerning politicians, politics and institutions (on the national and European level) leads to a growing legitimacy issue for the European Union and its institutions. As a result the incumbent president of the Commission of the European Communities, Romano Prodi, announced “promoting new forms of European governance” (Prodi, 2000:4) as a key strategic objective of his Commission from 2000-2005. Consequently, the European Commission published the White Paper on European Governance in 2001, introducing steps to a more democratic Union.

On the 23rd of June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union (EU); an event now commonly dubbed “Brexit”. This decision means that the UK will be the first country to leave the common market that is the EU, where a common market is defined as a “group formed by countries within a geographical area to promote duty free trade and free movement of labour and capital among its members” (What is common market? Definition and meaning, 2017). Trade deals with other countries are organised by the EU on behalf of its member states, as well as the rules and regulations governing business activity within the common market. As a result, leaving the EU is likely to result in huge implications for small to medium sized

With regards to the European Union (EU), its democratic deficit attracts one of the highest levels of attention and discussion. Its importance is clearly seen in the Treaty of Lisbon’s preamble which states that it aims to “enhance the ‘democratic legitimacy of the Union”’ . The EU is the first and most advanced form of supranationalism – a regional or international institution with its own governing institutions and structures in modern history. Due to the EU’s unique characteristics, it is not easy to decide what the standards to evaluate democracy should be . However, for the purpose of this essay, the EU’s democratic performance shall be evaluated based on the principle of subsidiarity, accountability, representativeness and

The European Union is committed to a challenging renewable energy goal of at least 27% of final energy consumption by renewable sources by 2030. While this goal is in part motivated by environmentally concerns, with commitments to climate change in mind, it is also politically motivated. Europe energy needs are currently heavily dependent on natural gas, which is mostly imported from Russia. This arrangement puts Europe in danger from Russian blockades and political pressure. The crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 renewed tensions between Brussels and Moscow. EU Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger has stated that a 30% energy reduction would prove a useful tool in ensuring European energy security. While there are plentiful opportunities for varied sources of renewable energy generation across Europe, issues arise in supplying this energy to the end consumer. The electrical transmission system has the difficult challenge of matching the current supply to the demand of the system by matching deficiencies in one area of production with abundances in another. In Europe this transmission system is comprised of multiple national transmission operators in a large central network with some additional mostly isolated networks. Increasing interconnection between these networks should result in increased efficiencies and robustness of the overall system. Additionally, the rise of electrically powered vehicles (EVs) will shift the considerable energy demand that is