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    EU GOV. Essay

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    Denisa Roic
    The document discusses whether the European Union can be considered a democracy. While the EU was founded on principles of democracy, equality, and human rights, it has faced criticisms of having a "democratic deficit" due to its complex decision-making processes. The EU includes countries with different histories, cultures, and political systems, making it difficult to satisfy all member states. However, the European Parliament is directly elected, and citizens can still enjoy freedoms and rights. Overall, while the EU may not be a perfect democracy, it aims to balance democracy with the needs of its diverse membership.

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    EU GOV. Essay

    Uploaded by

    Denisa Roic
    50 views4 pages
    The document discusses whether the European Union can be considered a democracy. While the EU was founded on principles of democracy, equality, and human rights, it has faced criticisms of having a "democratic deficit" due to its complex decision-making processes. The EU includes countries with different histories, cultures, and political systems, making it difficult to satisfy all member states. However, the European Parliament is directly elected, and citizens can still enjoy freedoms and rights. Overall, while the EU may not be a perfect democracy, it aims to balance democracy with the needs of its diverse membership.

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    The document discusses whether the European Union can be considered a democracy. While the EU was founded on principles of democracy, equality, and human rights, it has faced criticisms of having a "democratic deficit" due to its complex decision-making processes. The EU includes countries with different histories, cultures, and political systems, making it difficult to satisfy all member states. However, the European Parliament is directly elected, and citizens can still enjoy freedoms and rights. Overall, while the EU may not be a perfect democracy, it aims to balance democracy with the needs of its diverse membership.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    50 views4 pages

    EU GOV. Essay

    Uploaded by

    Denisa Roic
    The document discusses whether the European Union can be considered a democracy. While the EU was founded on principles of democracy, equality, and human rights, it has faced criticisms of having a "democratic deficit" due to its complex decision-making processes. The EU includes countries with different histories, cultures, and political systems, making it difficult to satisfy all member states. However, the European Parliament is directly elected, and citizens can still enjoy freedoms and rights. Overall, while the EU may not be a perfect democracy, it aims to balance democracy with the needs of its diverse membership.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    You are on page 1of 4

    University of Bucharest

    Faculty of Political Science


    International Relations and European Studies (IRES) II

    Is the European Union a democracy?

    Student name: Roic Denisa-Sabrina


    EU Governance course
    The democratic principle is fundamental for the European Union and it is one of the elements
    on which the Union lays on as it is presented in article 2 of the Treaty on European Union
    (TEU): “the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom,
    democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights”. 1 With the aim of
    promoting peace and a state of well-being among citizens, the EU has been regarded as an
    example of stable democracy, flourishing economic and political system for decades.
    However, the EU has encountered numerous crises in recent years, raising the issue of a
    "democratic deficit" and skepticism on the union's democratic character. According to Eur-
    Lex the notion of “democratic deficit” reffers to the idea that “EU institutions and their
    decision-making procedures suffer from a lack of democracy and seem inaccessible to the
    ordinary citizen due to their complexity” 2. Today, Europeans contest the EU's very existence
    and its goals more than ever.
    On top of this issue are some of the most challenging experiences the union has had to deal
    with. Brexit, the Covid-19 sanitary and economic crisis, the rise of far-right movements in
    countries like Poland and Hungary, and more recently the war in Ukraine together with the
    legalisation of insect protein for human use and potential plans to establish a digital euro have
    shaped Europeans’ opinion on the union’s capability to respect and integarte everyone’s
    needs in line with its principles. The pandemic and its implications led to a decline in the
    sense of democratic values through the restrictions imposed by the governments. Other
    limitations created by the pandemic are related to the public's access to accurate information.
    Some countries tried to impose constraints on media freedom and to squelch journalists while
    spreading misinformation about the vaccine. Other debates on democratic backsliding in
    Europe are linked to the political sphere, namely the far-right waves that spread across
    Europe and which aims to undermine some aspects of European democracy such as the
    freedom of media and judiciary independence. Critics of the EU and those who argued for the
    UK’ withdrawal from the union invoked the “undemocratic”, “run by unelected bureaucrats”
    ideas to justify their decision alongside with the lack of European identity.3
    As a union of 28 member states it is, indeed, complicated to comply with all countries’
    expectations and demands. The EU comprise a big surface of the continent and it includes
    countries with different history, cultural elements, socioeconomic status and political
    systems. At first look and even in its essence, the European Union is a democratic structure.
    1
    CONSOLIDATED VERSION OF THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION, Official Journal of the European Union, Title
    I, article 2, October 26th, 2012, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:2bf140bf-a3f8-4ab2-b506-
    fd71826e6da6.0023.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
    2
    DENNISON, James, Why did the UK leave the EU? : the state of the science of explaining Brexit, in John Erik
    FOSSUM and Christopher LORD (eds), Handbook of the European Union and Brexit, Cheltenham : Edward
    Elgar, 2023, pp. 26-41[Migration Policy Centre] - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/75247 Retrieved from Cadmus,
    EUI Research Repository

    3
    Alan Butt Philip, “How Democratic Is the European Union?,” The Conversation, May 20, 2016,
    https://theconversation.com/how-democratic-is-the-european-union-59419.
    The Council of Ministers exercises various executive powers and it consist of ministers
    representing the member states. It performs its legislative sessions in public, although its
    proceedings resemble those of a diplomatic conference rather than a typical debate in normal
    democratic legislature. The European Council is composed by heads of state or government
    together with the presidents of the Council of Ministers and of the European Commission.
    The European Parliament is the only body where MEPs are directly elected by citizens and it
    is the most democratic institution of the EU as meetings are open to the public and voting by
    simple majority is the routine. Finally, the Commission has been called the “watchdog”
    because it has to ensure that EU’ laws and treaties are applied by its members. EU’s main
    institutions are definitely representative, but they might fall short on transparency and
    accountability.4 According to the concept of “democratic deficit” the European Union and its
    organs lack democracy because of their complex system of operation. In this sense, the EU
    cannot be defined in the same way as other democractic structures in the world.
    The democratic system for governing the EU is undermined by its complex mix of
    intergovernmental and federal elements that makes the decision-making process more
    complicated and distant from the citizens. In this respect, we can argue that the EU is not the
    most democratic entity, but it still has less downsides than many national governments.
    Undoubtedly, the union is going through a difficult time. The refugee crisis, the escalating
    atmosphere of instability created on its borders, the euro-zone crisis, and the emergence of
    euroskepticism are key obstacles that have and will continue to have a big impact on the
    integration process at the European level. Many people struggled to see the benefits of
    integration, economic growth and security as well as social and environmental protection are
    just a few of the positives. There is still a need to redefine the institutions and their functions,
    so they would involve active participation of the citizens. The European Union proved to be
    successfull in achieving its economic aim and to preserve citizens’ rights through the
    incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights despite critics on its shortages. To answer
    the question addressed, I would say that the EU is a democracy where people can still enjoy
    their freedoms and have their rights respected as well as protection coupled with benefits of
    being part of the European project. It might not be the perfect entity, but on the long-term it
    demonstrated both its strengths and weaknesses.
    Bibliography
    Borchardt, Klaus-Dieter. “Fundamental Values of the European Union.” Essay. In The ABC
    of Community Law, 11–17. Luxembourg: EUR-OP, 2000. ISBN:9282878031
    Butt Philip Alan. “How Democratic Is the European Union?” The Conversation, May 20,
    2016. https://theconversation.com/how-democratic-is-the-european-union-59419.
    Danzig, Jon. “Why the EU Is More Democratic than the UK.” EU ROPE, August 6, 2021.
    https://eu-rope.ideasoneurope.eu/2021/08/06/why-the-eu-is-more-democratic-than-the-uk/.

    4
    Eur-Lex (2022). Glossary of summaries: Democratic deficit. European Commission, available here: https://eur-
    lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/democratic-deficit.html
    DENNISON, James, Why did the UK leave the EU? : the state of the science of explaining
    Brexit, in John Erik FOSSUM and Christopher LORD (eds), Handbook of the European
    Union and Brexit, Cheltenham : Edward Elgar, 2023, pp. 26-41[Migration Policy Centre],
    Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/75247
    Eur-Lex (2022). Glossary of summaries: Democratic deficit. European Commission,
    available here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/democratic-deficit.html
    Gonzalez, Maria. “Is the EU a Democratic Entity?” European Student Think Tank, April 29,
    2022. https://esthinktank.com/2022/04/29/is-the-eu-a-democratic-entity/.
    Hatton Anna. “Democracy in the EU”, CIVITAS Institute for the Study of Civil Society
    2015, last update June 2016, https://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/CIT5.-Dem.pdf

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