scholarly journals Looking for the European Voter: Split-Ticket Voting in the Belgian Regional and European Elections of 2009 and 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camille Kelbel ◽  
Virginie Van Ingelgom ◽  
Soetkin Verhaegen
Keyword(s):  
Economic Voting ◽  
Study Data ◽  
European Identity ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Political Debates ◽  
New Process ◽  
Commission President ◽  
The One ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Economic And Financial Crisis

While European elections are often seen as remote from EU issues, considerations specifically linked to the EU came to the forefront in the wake of the 2014 European elections: the economic and financial crisis, the new process of designation of the European Commission President, and the alleged increase of Eurosceptic votes. This increased salience of political debates about the EU asks for a reconsideration of the ‘second-order nature’ of European elections. In this context, as in 2009, the Belgian electorate voted for the regional and European levels on the very same day. Belgian voters were thus offered the opportunity to split their ticket between both levels. This allows comparing the occurrence and determinants of these ‘immediate switching’ behaviours in 2014 with those of the presumably less politicized EP elections in 2009. We do that by employing the 2009 and 2014 PartiRep Election Study data. On the one hand, the article shows that split-ticket voting cannot be explained by economic voting, European identity, and attitudes towards integration in 2014. On the other hand, the unique configuration of the Belgian elections enables us to observe that the introduction of Spitzenkandidaten did enhance split-ticket voting for voters who could directly vote for this candidate (in Flanders), while this did not increase split-ticket voting among voters who could only indirectly support the candidate (in Wallonia).

The Making of a President: The European Parliament and the Confirmation of Jacques Santer as President of the Commission

1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hix ◽  
Christopher Lord
Keyword(s):  
European Parliament ◽  
The Other ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Shared Meanings ◽  
Single European Act ◽  
The One ◽  
Council Of Ministers ◽  
The Eu

THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT AND THE MAASTRICHT TREATY attempted to balance two principles of representation in their redesign of the institutional structures of the European Union: the one, based on the indirect representation of publics through nationally elected governments in the European Council and Council of Ministers; the other, based on the direct representation of publics through a more powerful European Parliament. There is much to be said for this balance, for neither of the two principles can, on its own, be an adequate solution at this stage in the development of the EU. The Council suffers from a non-transparent style of decision-making and is, in the view of many, closer to oligarchic than to democratic politics. On the other hand, the claims of the European Parliament to represent public sentiments on European integration are limited by low voter participation, the second-order nature of European elections and the still Protean nature of what we might call a transnational European demos. The EU lacks a single public arena of political debate, communications and shared meanings; of partisan aggregation and political entrepreneurship; and of high and even acceptance, across issues and member states, that it is European and not national majority views which should count in collective rule-making.

scholarly journals The effect of political trust and trust in European citizens on European identity

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soetkin Verhaegen ◽  
Marc Hooghe ◽  
Ellen Quintelier
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Identity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Institutional Approach ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

In the literature, two approaches toward the development of a European identity can be distinguished. Society-based approaches assume that the most important foundation for the development of a European identity is trust toward other European citizens as this allows Europeans to identify with the European Union as a community of citizens and values. The institutional approach, on the other hand, assumes that a shared European identity is predominantly based on trust in political institutions. In this paper, we use the results of the IntUne Mass Survey 2009 (n=16,613 in 16 EU member states) to test the relationship between social and political trust on the one hand, and European identity on the other. The results suggest that trust in other European citizens is positively associated with European identity, but trust in the European political institutions has a stronger relation with European identity. This could imply that efforts to strengthen European identity cannot just rely on a bottom-up approach, but should also pay attention to the effectiveness and the visibility of the EU institutions and the way they are being perceived by European citizens.

scholarly journals The abandonment of the Spitzenkandidaten System: (Un)sustainable democracy in the EU?

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-80
Author(s):  
Carlos Espaliú Berdud
Keyword(s):  
European Parliament ◽  
European Council ◽  
Treaty Of Lisbon ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Commission President ◽  
The Eu

In the process of the parliamentarisation of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon took a further step forward by introducing into the founding treaties - Article 17.7 TEU- the need to take into account the elections to the European Parliament for the appointment of the President of the Commission. Nevertheless, the European Parliament has been trying to impose its interpretation of Article 17.7 TEU, which has been coined into the Spitzenkandidaten doctrine, according to which the head of the party winning the elections should be elected as Commission President. The Parliament succeeded in imposing its vision with the occasion of the appointment of Juncker in 2014. Nevertheless, by not proposing Manfred Weber, the leader of the most voted party in the 2019 elections, as President, the European Council has prevented the consolidation of the 2014 precedent. Article 17.7 of the TEU also expresses the desire to bring the European elections closer to the citizens, so that their opinion is taken into account when the President of the Commission is elected. And it seems that both the results of participation in 2019 and the perception of the voters show that the Spitzenkandidaten system has been useful for that purpose. In any event, I consider that the fact that citizens voted in the 2019 elections in the belief that their votes would be decisive in appointing the President of the Commission and, in the end, it was not elected an Spitzenkandidaten as head of the Commission, is a very serious lack of consideration for citizens. Received:  03 February 2021Accepted: 25 March 2021

scholarly journals IL RILANCIO DEL PROGETTO EUROPEO A 60 ANNI DAI TRATTATI DI ROMA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Martinelli
Keyword(s):  
White Paper ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Member States ◽  
Economic Stagnation ◽  
Fiscal Austerity ◽  
Policy Priority ◽  
The One ◽  
Supranational Level ◽  
Sixtieth Anniversary ◽  
The Eu

Written on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of 1957 Treaties of Rome, the essay reviews the main stages of Europe’s integration process, its achievements and failures, its crises and strategies for a necessary revival. The essay argues that the evolution toward an ever greater and diversified union was made possible by a compromise between the supranational-communitarian and the intergovernmental method of governance. The essay criticizes the fact that the transfer of quotas of national sovereignty to the supranational level has not be accompanied by an equivalent transfer of loyalty and commitment by member states’ citizens, who are at the same time EU citizens. The main cleavages within the EU are then analysed, which can be traced to different goals, interest and expectations of member states: the cleavage between those who view the union just as a single market and those who conceive it also as a supranational politiical project; and the cleavage between Northern creditor countries who hold fiscal austerity as a policy priority and Southern indebted countries who are mostly concerned with economic stagnation and unemployment. And it is argued that these cleavages have deepened because of three interconnected challenges: the economicfinancial crisis and its social implications (growth of inequalities, unemployment and underemployment), the migration pressure, and the threat of fundamentalist terrorism. The essay then analyses the upsurge of national-populism and euroskepticism and traces these phenomena to the democratic deficit of EU institutions and the inadequate development of a common European identity. Finally, the alternative strategies for the EU renewal, ougtlined in the Commission’ s White Paper are discussed, arguing that the one oriented toward a federal union to be achieved through the method of reinforced cooperation is to be preferred.

scholarly journals Europa po Traktacie z Lizbony – słowa i rzeczywistość

2018 ◽  
pp. 33-44
Author(s):  
Stanisław KONOPACKI
Keyword(s):  
European Parliament ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Free Movement Of Persons ◽  
The One ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Current Reality

The Treaty of Lisbon, which became effective on December 1 2009, provides for the transformation of the European Union into a more democratic, efficient and united community. This paper attempts to assess to what extent its provisions are reflected in the current reality of a united Europe. On the one hand, democratic legitimization of the EU is growing as a result of increasing competencies of the European Parliament, the rights of national parliaments, and so-called citizens’ initiatives. However, the turnout in the last European elections, the increasing popularity of extremist right-wing parties, the work of the European Convention and restrictions imposed on the free movement of persons show that EU practice is far from the complete implementation of democratic values. Secondly, the Lisbon Treaty provides for higher EU efficiency in the international arena. This cannot be achieved, though, by electing people devoid of charisma, experience and a vision of a united Europe to the highest positions, such as EU president or chief of diplomacy. Last but not least, the new treaty provides for energy solidarity. Yet the work of the European Parliament, which is expected to translate these words into practice, is burdened by an increasing number of doubts and difficulties.

scholarly journals IL RILANCIO DEL PROGETTO EUROPEO A 60 ANNI DAI TRATTATI DI ROMA

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Martinelli
Keyword(s):  
White Paper ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Economic Stagnation ◽  
Fiscal Austerity ◽  
Policy Priority ◽  
The One ◽  
Supranational Level ◽  
Sixtieth Anniversary ◽  
The Eu

Written on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of 1957 Treaties of Rome, the essay reviews the main stages of Europe’s integration process, its achievements and failures, its crises and strategies for a necessary revival. The essay argues that the evolution toward an ever greater and diversified union was made possible by a compromise between the supranational-communitarian and the intergovernmental method of governance. The essay criticizes the fact that the transfer of quotas of national sovereignty to the supranational level has not be accompanied by an equivalent transfer of loyalty and commitment by member states’ citizens, who are at the same time EU citizens. The main cleavages within the EU are then analysed, which can be traced to different goals, interest and expectations of member states: the cleavage between those who view the union just as a single market and those who conceive it also as a supranational politiical project; and the cleavage between Northern creditor countries who hold fiscal austerity as a policy priority and Southern indebted countries who are mostly concerned with economic stagnation and unemployment. And it is argued that these cleavages have deepened because of three interconnected challenges: the economicfinancial crisis and its social implications (growth of inequalities, unemployment and underemployment), the migration pressure, and the threat of fundamentalist terrorism. The essay then analyses the upsurge of national-populism and euroscepticism and traces these phenomena to the democratic deficit of EU institutions and the inadequate development of a common European identity. Finally, the alternative strategies for the EU renewal, ougtlined in the Commission’ s White Paper are discussed, arguing that the one oriented toward a federal union to be achieved through the method of reinforced cooperation is to be preferred.

The EU Commission

2020 ◽  
pp. 176-207
Author(s):  
Vivien A. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Commission President ◽  
The One ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Eu Commission ◽  
The Eu

Chapter 7 discusses the Commission’s pathway to legitimacy, as it moved from a rigid interpretation of the “one size fits all” rules of the European Semester to an increasingly flexible one. The chapter begins by analyzing the Commission’s powers, diminished by the Council’s increase in intergovernmental decision-making but enhanced by its ever-growing oversight responsibilities and discretionary authority, and its quandaries with regard to throughput legitimacy. These stem from the countervailing pressures from Northern Europe calling for more rigid rules application, and from Southern Europe calling for greater flexibility. Such pressures also contributed to Commission politicization, starting with Council appointment of José Manuel Barroso as Commission President in line with his political “color” and culminating with the Spitzenkandidat, Jean-Claude Juncker, and his self-declared “political” Commission. The chapter follows with a discussion of the Janus-faced public perceptions of the Commission in Eurozone crisis governance as “ayatollahs of austerity” or “Ministers of Moderation.” During the fast-burning crisis, the Commission appeared ayatollah-like in its rigid approach to governing by the rules and numbers that it had itself proposed to the Council. But as the crisis slowed, the Commission ministered greater moderation, with the Barroso Commission reinterpreting the rules while denying it, and the Juncker Commission fully admitting to its greater flexibility. The exception was the Commission’s Ayatollah-like stance in the Troika (as the voice of the Eurogroup). The chapter closes with a discussion of the deleterious impact of the European Semester on national sovereignty and democracy, in particular with regard to the Commission’s national budgetary oversight.

scholarly journals Ekonomické hlasování a odpovědnost vládních stran ve střední Evropě

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (2–3) ◽  
pp. 77-100
Author(s):  
Petra Svačinová
Keyword(s):  
Economic Voting ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Election Study ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Prime Ministers ◽  
Logistic Analysis ◽  
Electoral Behaviour ◽  
European Election ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Eu

The article presents economic voting theory and its application to the study of electoral behaviour in four Central European countries. The theoretical part describes the reward-punishment model of economic voting and its predictions for electoral behaviour in countries with coalition governance and in internationally open economies during the global economic crisis. The analytical part investigates the existence and features of economic voting (as a P-function) in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Hypotheses about the existence of economic voting in these countries, the higher economic accountability of more responsible coalition partners, and the lower level of economic voting under the perceived influence of the EU on the domestic economy are tested using OLS and binary logistic analysis of European Election Study data (2004 and 2009). As the results show, economic voting was only detected in Hungary (2004 and 2009) and Slovakia (2004). The analysis indicates that, in general, almost all Prime ministers’ parties bear a greater degree of economic accountability; meanwhile, perceptions of EU economic responsibility had no influence on the popularity of government parties in 2009.

scholarly journals National but European? Visual manifestations of Europe in national parties’ Euromanifestos since 1979

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 526-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Adrian Popa ◽  
Delia Dumitrescu
Keyword(s):  
Visual Analysis ◽  
European Identity ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
European Project ◽  
European Values ◽  
Significant Effort ◽  
The Eu

The architects of the European project made a significant effort to create a set of symbols for the community (such as the EU flag, the map of Europe, the anthem, etc.), and recent evidence suggests that the main European values are nowadays spontaneously associated with them. We know little, however, about if and when national political actors choose to display these symbolic visual manifestations of Europe. In this study, we examine the presence of such symbols in parties’ Euromanifestos since the first European elections. The presence of EU community symbols is correlated with several factors, suggesting that the display is consistent both with a policy-driven and with a vote-seeking logic. We explore at length the implications of these results for future visual analysis of parties’ European messages and for the larger issue of European identity.

scholarly journals How to Bridge the Gaps between Competing Paradigms for EU Law: An Introduction

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. E-I-E-XIX
Author(s):  
Marta Simoncini ◽  
Gert Straetmans
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Identity ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The One ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Eu

Abstract For the first time since its creation, the European Union (EU) has been living its probably most significant identity crisis. This crisis has its roots in different critical situations that have hit the EU, have affected its functioning and have fundamentally questioned its legitimacy. The gaps in the EU integration process have been uncovered and the fragmentation of EU policies has become a source of different risks. On the anniversary of sixty years of the Rome Treaties, this Special Issue aims to reflect on the paradigms for EU law looking beyond their competing accounts of EU integration. The analysis is developed through a series of contributions that challenge the paradigms in different directions. The discussion is articulated on two levels. On the one hand, a group of contributions focuses on the historical and legal analysis of the emergence and transformation of the EU legal order. These contributions delve deeper into the absence of a European identity and go beyond the inherent critique that the EU is a demoi-cracy that struggles with a democratic disconnect or even deficit. On the other hand, other contributions debate paradigms and their implementation in important policy domains. These contributions aim to give a more practical perspective on the constitutional and/or administrative character of the European Union, showing its implications and concrete questions.

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