Overcoming democratic breakdown in the European Union

he European Union is currently undergoing a crisis in democratic legitimacy. Confidence in the European Union and its institutions is at its lowest ebb and many Europeans criticise the way in which democracy works in the Union. For several years now, the distance between community institutions and European citizens would appear to have widened. Citizens believe that their voices are not taken into account by the European Union, which they consider to be removed from their concerns and lacking in transparency. To regain any kind of legitimacy, the Union must reduce its democratic breakdown and recreate a link with Europeans. Some initiatives have been implemented to this end, but they would appear insufficient. Other action must be taken, and that is one of the challenges facing the new Commission for the next five years.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: How do citizens see the European Union? http://www.europeansources.info/record/how-do-citizens-see-the-european-union/

---