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Parlamentet og EU’s demokrati

Parlamentet og EU’s demokrati. EU i undervisningen – sådan! DEO konference, 30 januar 2014 Laura Horn, Roskilde Universitet. Outline. Democracy in the EU Crisis of the EU, crisis of democracy? Perspectives on the ’democratic deficit’?

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Parlamentet og EU’s demokrati

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  1. Parlamentet og EU’s demokrati EU i undervisningen – sådan! DEO konference, 30 januar 2014 Laura Horn, Roskilde Universitet

  2. Outline Democracy 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

  3. 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

  4. 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?

  5. 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)

  6. 2014 EP election 8th (!) 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?

  7. 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!

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