Original scientific paper
Federalism as a Concept of Development of the European Union
Dario Čepo
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to show that federalism is the proper tool for resolving problems stemming from the institutional structure of the European Union, i.e. for lowering the democratic deficit that is a product of partial illegitimacy of said structure. Federalism is the proper tool for resolving EU problems, as it is a concept most closely linked to complex political systems, and the European Union is one of the most complex systems in the world. This paper presents the main differences between federalism and confederalism, while showing that federalism does not necessarily transform a political entity into a full-fledged federation. Different models of federalism, mainly decentralized federalism, if properly used, could help resolve the democratic deficit of the European Union, strengthening the democratic legitimacy of its system among the citizens.
Keywords
federalism; the European Union; confederalism; decentralized federalism
Hrčak ID:
128147
URI
Publication date:
15.9.2014.
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