The European Parliament should return to a ‘dual mandate’ system which uses national politicians as representatives instead of directly elected MEPs

One of the key criticisms of European Parliament elections is that low turnout prevents the Parliament from genuinely being able to confer legitimacy on the EU’s legislative process. Herman Lelieveldt writes that while there was a small increase in turnout in the 2014 European elections, the overall trend of declining turnout necessitates a radical reform to improve the EU’s democratic legitimacy.

He suggests returning to a ‘dual mandate’ system through which national parliaments appoint a proportion of their members to split time between the European Parliament and the national level.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: European Parliament - Election, 22 - 25 May 2014. Results http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-parliament-election-22-25-may-2014-results/

Wikipedia: Dual mandate http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_mandate

Penguin Companion to the European Union, 2012: Dual mandate http://penguincompaniontoeu.com/additional_entries/dual-mandate/

LSE EuroppBlog, 08.07.14: Using a ‘dual mandate’ system would significantly reduce Eurosceptic representation in the European Parliament http://bit.ly/1jlQCUr

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