Democracy + democratic backsliding

Rousseau's idea of Europe

there should be a society of Europe with the same law, religion, sciences, and trade. This should underpin all of Europe

Article 49 TEU

A country can join the EU only if it meets its values and all member states agree.

Article 50 TEU

any MS can decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutions

limitations to Art 50

you cannot revoke it - once you have stated your intention to leave, you must leave

- this was decided due to concerns revocation would lead to abuse of Art 50

Article 2 TEU

The Union is found on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights

All MS are expected to respect these values

is Article 2 rigid?

Article 2 is deliberately kept abstract

- does not have specific requirements - e.g. no requirement to allow same-sex marriage

Copenhagen Criteria

requirements which need to be met for accession

1. stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, human rights etc

2. functioning market economy and ability to cope with competitive market pressure

3. ability to take on the obligations of membership, including implementation of EU law

democratic deficit

decisions are being made without enough democratic control or accountability.

What are the reasons people argue there is a democratic deficit

1. Weak EU legislature

2. No European elections

3. Policy drift

4. No demos

the executive/legislative branch

due to integration, decision-making power has shifted away from national government to EU-level institutions

Weak EU legislature

the EU parliament is too weak to compensate for the increase in power of the EU executive

- its legislative role is limited

- it does not elect the executive

No European election

- Both EP & national elections are not really about Europe

- Low and falling turnout

- no European-wide political debate or public sphere.

Policy drift

The EU adopts policies not supported by the majority of citizens. Integration has produced a policy drift away from voters' ideal preferences. Specifically: neoliberal bias.

no demos

There is no European people that could exercise its popular sovereignty and legitimate the EU.

demos

people, defined by a common culture/history/language/ethnicty

- democracy requires demos to exercise

What do we have instead of a demos?

- demois-cracy with the people of Europe ruling together, but not as one

What did Majone argue in 1998

more electoral democracy would be harmful

Why would more democracy be harmful

- The EU is a regulatory state, its policies are Pareto efficient and it does not engage in redistributive politics

pareto-efficient

there is no other solution in which someone is better off and no one is worse of

majoritan democratic politics

leads to redistributive rather than Pareto-efficient policy outcomes.

What would be the outcomes of Majoritarian democratic policies

politicise policy-making, and make it redistributive rather than Pareto-efficient. This would undermine the EU's legitimacy, which rests on Pareto-efficient output

What did Majone argue in 2014

During the Euro crisis, people saw they weren't always benefiting, while decisions were made without them—making the EU's lack of democracy more obvious and serious.

Why is there a fear of democratic backsliding

There is a move away from a competition for liberal democracy. Within the EU, we have seen democratic member states elect leaders who are sceptical of democracy

democratic backsliding

If you want to join the EU, you must be democratic, BUT once you have entered the EU, there is nothing that can be done to ensure that the member state is democratic

examples of democratic backsliding sanctions

- Hungary pays 1 million Euros a day as a fine for refusing to accept its quota of asylum seekers under the EU law

- During COVID, the EU refused funding to parts of Poland which labelled themselves as LGBTQ-free zones

Why do some scholars argue the EU was disillusioned

they were so certain that liberal democracy is the way of the future that they ignored the growing popularity of populist parties

There is no fixing this or going back to normal as there is very little political consensus in this era

Joseph Weider

Shared values are a necessity for the EU. The EU agrees that MS can be bound by decisions. This means some legislation can pass through the EU legislature that MS may be against, but they would have to follow it anyway

Arguments for MS having the same opinion on gay marriage

if one MS had the death penalty for homosexual activity, this would be so far outside what is acceptable to other MS that they would not be able to trust that MS. They would not want to be in the EU as that MS would be voting on laws that bind them

Arguments against MS having the same opinion on gay marriage

Some argue that in relation to moral issues, the EU should give space for different worldviews to compete. If the EU says we must have gay marriage, it will cause a political crisis through populism