The democratic deficit in the EU

A participatory famine may be defined in two ways; John McCormick gives a general rendering to be the gap between the major mightinesss held by European institutions and the faculty of European citizens to solve the work and decisions of those institutions (McCormick, 1999). Christopher Lord of Leeds University adds that a democratic deficit exists wherever political powers are transferred to EU institutions that are less(prenominal) democratic than national ones. Both comments assume a definition of a legitimate democratic institution as an responsible and representative body working in its citizens interests.

The democratic deficit in the EU has many sources; not least of which is the impotence of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is the only body indoors the Union that is directly elected, and therefore the only of the institutions that may aim Europe-wide legitimacy. However, the Parliament does not function as the legislature merely rather as one of the legislative branches of the European policy-making process. It cannot introduce new laws, but may only declare oneself proposals for the European Commission to review, and it also lacks other powers commonly held by the legislative branches of governments.



For example, most elected legislatures hold the purse strings to limit the consumption power of executives, but the European Parliament has no power to raise revenues and consequently is no rival in power to either the Council of Ministers or the European Commission. In a conventional role the Parliament should also be an effective scrutiniser of executive practice, but in reality the Parliaments committees perform roles which counseling on legislation matters and the activities of the other European institutions demand niggling time on the Parliaments agenda. The Parliament asserts its legitimacy when it claims it should have great legislative powers, but national governments enjoy the undue influence and autonomy that the supremacy...

If you want to get a full essay, baffle it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my paper