scholarly journals The democratic deficit of the EU: Breaking the spell of a false analogy

European View ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-233
Author(s):  
Svetoslav Malinov
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
The Eu

The article contains a critique of the concept of the democratic deficit of the EU. Its logical unsustainability is revealed by demonstrating that it is based on the ‘fallacy of false analogy’. Several of the numerous implications of this assertion are elaborated, with a special emphasis on the ‘no-demos thesis’. The article does not treat the idea of the democratic deficit of the EU merely as an analytical concept that is based on a false analogy and thus logically incorrect. For the concept has been persistently used in political debates as one of the most destructive tools against the EU. The concluding section contains a radical proposal for a counter-offensive in favour of European integration.

scholarly journals Aniversarios con luces y sombras: Constitución española, integración europea y ‘defectos estructurales’ de la UE // Anniversaries with Mixed Feelings: the Spanish Constitution, European Integration, and the «Genetic Defects» of the EU (1957-2017 and 1978-2018).

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (100) ◽  
pp. 1139
Author(s):  
Antonio Carlos Pereira Menaut
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Constitutional Rule ◽  
Spanish Constitution ◽  
Mixed Feelings ◽  
Structural Failures ◽  
Political Communities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Resumen:En conjunto puede decirse que tanto la UE como la Constitución española de 1978 han sido grandes éxitos que ahora celebran sus aniversarios, pero ambas tienen problemas que deben ser resueltos. En el caso de la UE, parece haber un puñado de defectos estructurales difíciles de eliminar y que dificultan mucho solucionar el déficit democrático y la plena constitucionalización de la Unión. Los mismos defectos estructurales plantean la cuestión de hasta dónde puede llegar la integración europea, manteniendo, al mismo tiempo, la integridad constitucional española, o al menos no amenazándola. Nos inclinamos por abandonar el método funcionalista, pasar a un tipo de gobierno plenamente político y constitucional, y encaminarnos hacia un federalismo pluralista, más bien dual y del tipo del americano.Summary:I. By way of an introduction. II. Some points to start with. III. On federalism, once again. IV. Has european constitutionalism some structural failures? A. Constitutionalism and the functionalist method. B. The impact of the insufficient EU democracy on Spanish constitutionalism. C. Is the EU a pluralistic, multilevel political community composed of smaller, yet real, political communities? D. Globalisation, European constitutionalism, and Spanish constitutionalism. V. How much European integration is the Spanish constitution apt to admit of?Abstract:On the whole, one may safely say that both the EU and the 1978 Spanish Constitution have been runaway successes that are now about celebrating their anniversaries, yet both have problems that should be addressed to. In the case of the EU, there seems to exist a handful of structural failures that are not easy to remove and make very difficult to cope with the democratic deficit and the full constitutionalising of the Union. The same inbuilt failures pose the question of how far may European integration go while at the same time maintaining, or not menacing, the integrity of the Spanish Constitution. Our leanings go towards abandoning the functionalist method, embracing a fully political, constitutional rule, and making for a pluralistic, rather dual, American-like, kind of federalism.

scholarly journals Why Europe Does not Need a Constitution: On the Limits of Constituent Power as a Tool for Democratization

Res Publica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliénor Ballangé
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constituent Power ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Cautious Approach ◽  
Theoretical Hypothesis ◽  
The Eu

AbstractIn this article, I question the use of the notion of ‘constituent power’ as a tool for the democratization of the European Union (EU). Rather than seeing the absence of a transnational constituent power as a cause of the EU’s ‘democratic deficit’, I identify it as an opportunity for unfettered democratic participation. Against the reification of power-in-action into a power-constituted-in-law, I argue that the democratization of the EU can only be achieved through the multiplication of ‘constituent moments’. I begin by deconstructing the normative justifications surrounding the concept of constituent power. Here I analyze the structural aporia of constituent power and question the autonomous and emancipatory dimension of this notion. I then test the theoretical hypothesis of this structural aporia of the popular constituent power by comparing it with the historical experiments of a European popular constituent power. Finally, based on these theoretical and empirical observations, I propose to replace the ambivalence of the concept of popular constituent power with a more cautious approach to the bottom-up democratization of European integration: that of a multiplication of transnational constituent moments.

scholarly journals La citoyenneté européenne et le déficit démocratique

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ira E. Stüttler
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
European Citizenship ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Eu

The European citizenship and the democratic deficit are at the heart of the ongoing discussion about the European integration. Critics think that the possibility for the citizens to participate in the decision making process of the EU is not sufficient. In order to shed some light on this matter, the two concepts are examined under their different aspects. We emphasize not only their place in the larger context of the integration and the political situation in Europe but also the link between the two notions. This allows the conclusion that the European citizenship, because of its flexible and innovative character, should be the starting point in the search of an answer to the democratic deficit.

scholarly journals A Critical Assessment of a Eurosceptic Party Group on European Integration: A Case Study of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sertan Akbaba
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Unfavourable Condition ◽  
Level Analysis ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Party Group

Abstract The article explores Euroscepticism and the way it is utilized within the politics of Europe, analyzed upon evidence from a Eurosceptic Euro-party located in the European Parliament, namely the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR). The aim of this article is to clarify that the selected party> disproves the argument of EU- criticism being an unfavourable condition, and, more importantly, its contribution to the political contestation in the EU. For such an assessment, a survey of the party> manifesto, party working documents, as well as the discourses of the Member of the European Parliament (MEPs) will be analyzed, and the concept of Euroscepticism will be once again in the centre of this analysis. This argument is evaluated based on the transnational-level analysis of the aforementioned party, focusing primarily on three specific issues-the democratic deficit, the issue of sovereignty! and anti-immigration rhetoric.

European Integration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann P. Arnason
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
The Eu

Different understandings of European integration, its background and present problems are represented in this book, but they share an emphasis on historical processes, geopolitical dynamics and regional diversity. The introduction surveys approaches to the question of European continuities and discontinuities, before going on to an overview of chapters. The following three contributions deal with long-term perspectives, including the question of Europe as a civilisational entity, the civilisational crisis of the twentieth century, marked by wars and totalitarian regimes, and a comparison of the European Union with the Habsburg Empire, with particular emphasis on similar crisis symptoms. The next three chapters discuss various aspects and contexts of the present crisis. Reflections on the Brexit controversy throw light on a longer history of intra-Union rivalry, enduring disputes and changing external conditions. An analysis of efforts to strengthen the EU’s legal and constitutional framework, and of resistances to them, highlights the unfinished agenda of integration. A closer look at the much-disputed Islamic presence in Europe suggests that an interdependent radicalization of Islamism and the European extreme right is a major factor in current political developments. Three concluding chapters adopt specific regional perspectives. Central and Eastern European countries, especially Poland, are following a path that leads to conflicts with dominant orientations of the EU, but this also raises questions about Europe’s future. The record of Scandinavian policies in relation to Europe exemplifies more general problems faced by peripheral regions. Finally, growing dissonances and divergences within the EU may strengthen the case for Eurasian perspectives.

THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING OF ANTI-CORRUPTION POLICY OF UKRAINE: THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION ASPECT

2020 ◽  
pp. 102-105
Author(s):  
A. A. Prykhodko
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
European Integration ◽  
International Standards ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Third World Country ◽  
Broad Interpretation ◽  
Enforcement Activity ◽  
Cross Border Cooperation ◽  
The Eu

The article analyzes the theoretical and practical aspects of the anti-corruption policy of Ukraine in the context of European integration. Considered that corruption has long been perceived in the EU as a negative phenomenon requiring systematic, strategic and concerted action of a transboundary and transnational character and, in general, a threat to the rule of law. The author concluded that Ukraine will continue to be perceived by a third world country as long as anti-corruption measures are duplicated from one strategic document to another. The anti-corruption strategy of Ukraine should be an early, strategic and systematic tool for the eradication of corruption and the formation of public justice in the context of zero tolerance for such phenomena. Now this is a set of normatively fixed declarative slogans that are consistent with international standards, but are not achievable in practical terms due to the lack of state strategic planning in advance. The new anti-corruption strategy must necessarily include a broad interpretation of all the concepts used in it, including the term “anti-corruption policy”. Taking into account the recommendations of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the author’s vision of the term “anti-corruption policy” has been formed, as a set of principles, tasks, goals and principles of implementation of law-making and law-enforcement activity of public administration within the protection of human and civil rights and freedoms a state implemented by a system of methods, means and measures to combat corruption in priority areas and in accordance with anti-corruption standards and on the basis of transnational national and cross-border cooperation.

The Kelsenian Model of Constitutional Review in Times of European Integration – Reconsidering the Basic Features

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-37
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kustra-Rogatka
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Centralized Control ◽  
Constitutional Treaty ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Constitutional Review ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
The Eu

Summary The paper deals with the changes in the centralized (Kelsenian) model of constitutional review resulting from a state’s membership of the EU, which unequivocally demonstrates the decomposition of the classic paradigm of constitutional judiciary. The main point raised in the paper is that European integration has fundamentally influenced on the four above-mentioned basic elements of the Kelsenian model of constitutional review of legislation, which are the following: the assumption of the hierarchical construction of a legal system; the assumption of the supreme legal force of the constitution as the primary normative act of a given system; a centralised model of reviewing hierarchical conformity of legal norms; coherence of the system guaranteed by a constitutional court’s power to declare defectiveness of a norm and the latter’s derogation. All its fundamental elements have evolved, i.e. the hierarchy of the legal system, the overriding power of the constitution, centralized control of constitutionality, and the erga omnes effect of the ruling on the hierarchical non-conformity of the norms. It should be noted that over the last decade the dynamics of these changes have definitely gained momentum. This has been influenced by several factors, including the “great accession” of 2004, the pursuit of formal constitutionalization of the EU through the Constitutional Treaty, the compromise solutions adopted in the Treaty of Lisbon, the entry into force of the Charter, and the prospect of EU accession to the ECHR. The CJEU has used these factors to deepen the tendencies towards decentralization of constitutional control, by atomising national judicial systems and relativizing the effects of constitutional court rulings within national legal systems. The end result is the observed phenomenon, if not of marginalisation, then at least of a systemic shift in the position of constitutional courts, which have lost their uniqueness and have become “only ones of many” national courts.

The Concept of Europeanization and Possibilities of its Application to the Analysis of Ukraine-EU Relations

2017 ◽  
pp. 149-160
Author(s):  
Natalia Popova
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Member States ◽  
External Governance ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Eu Studies ◽  
The Eu

The concept of Europeanization has become quite fashionable in EU studies in recent years. It is often used for the analysis of the relations between the EU and non-member states. The aim of the article is to examine the possibilities of its application in explaining the relationship between the EU and Ukraine. The structure of the article is as follows: firstly, the concept of Europeanization is defined considering such two disputable issues as distinguishing among concepts of Europeanization and European integration as well as Europeanization and EU-ization. Next, the evolution of the theoretical research of Europeanization and definition of this concept are analyzed. Two main mechanisms of Europeanization (conditionality and socialization) are examined. The author considers main approaches to the analysis of the "external" Europeanization emphasizing the concept of "external governance". Three groups of factors which influence the effectiveness of Europeanization are briefly analyzed. And finally, the peculiarities of application of the Europeanization concept to the Ukraine-EU relations are outlined. Keywords: EU, Ukraine, Europeanization, EU-ization, ‘external’ Europeanization, conditionality, socialization, concept of ‘external governance’

THE FAILURE TO SIGN THE UKRAINE-EU ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2013)

2019 ◽  
pp. 30-45
Author(s):  
V. I. Denysenko
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Ruling Elite ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Russian President ◽  
The Government ◽  
Vladimir Putin ◽  
The Eu

The failure to sign the Association Agreement with the EU in autumn 2013 has been investigated. The role of the Russian factor, which became decisive in the foreign policy reversal of the Yanukovych regime, has been revealed. The importance of Viktor Yanukovych’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 27, 2013, in the dramatic change of Ukraine’s international vector has been emphasized. On the basis of diplomats’ memoirs, the assumption about intimidation of the Ukrainian President by the Russian side has been substantiated. The timeline of the preparation of the 2013 Vilnius Summit, the position of EU structures and the attempts of the fourth President of Ukraine to win time to trade with the Russians have been reproduced. The thesis about the Donetsk clan’s attempts to prepare public opinion for a 180 degree turn in late October - early November 2013 has been presented. For this purpose, demonstration meetings were organized with representatives of Ukrainian business and trade unions, who called for revision of plans for European integration on their own initiative. The main role in manipulating public opinion rested on the government of Mykola Azarov and the Verkhovna Rada, which had a majority coalition led by the Party of Regions. Instead, Viktor Yanukovych continued his European integration rhetoric and reiterated to Western partners his own willingness to sign the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. On November 21, the real position of the ruling elite was made available to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. According to it, the process of preparation for the signing of the Association Agreement was suspended, the proposal was made for the trilateral Ukraine-EU-Russia negotiations, and the ministries were tasked with developing measures to maintain economic ties with the CIS countries. The decision was rejected by European partners and led to Yanukovych’s attempts to find other ways to thwart the signing of the Agreement. It has been proved that this role was played by Yanukovych’s requirements for financial assistance from the EU amounting to about 160 billion euros, which aimed to prevent the signing of the Association Agreement. Key words: Viktor Yanukovych, association of Ukraine with the EU, эYulia Tymoshenko, European integration, Pat Cox, Alexander Kwasniewski, Vladimir Putin.

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