Conference paper
CONSTITUTIONALISATION OF DEMOCRACY IN THE EU: DEMOCRATIC DEFICITS AND THE DIFFICULTIES OF OVERCOMING POLITICAL ALIENATION
Damir Grubiša
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The texts focuses on constitutionalisation of democracy in the European Union
and the phenomenon of democratic deficit through the failed Constitution
for Europe and, thereafter, the Lisbon Treaty, which takes over the definition
of democracy as the foundation of the European Union. In this context, the
author also looks into the contribution of political scientist Zvonko Posavec,
who was one of the first in Croatia to advocate the need for constitutionalisation
of the European Union as a project of finalising the process of European
integration. While writing about the need for constitutional foundation of the
European Union, Posavec simultaneously reflects on representative democracy
as the form of democracy on which the European Union is predominantly
founded. Beside a valorisation of Posavec’s works on democracy in the European
Union, this paper deals with the problem of the democratic deficit in
the European Union which is manifest in the lack of democratic legitimacy
of EU institutions, with the sole exception of the European Parliament. The
author finds, however, that the main deficit of the European Union is not the
democratic process, but political alienation. He perceives the latter as alienation
of citizens from the EU as a derivative community, non-transparent and
distanced from the basic interests of the citizens and the media interest in politics.
Although the European Union declaratively relies on basic democratic
values, in practice democracy is experienced primarily through a democratic
deficit contrasted by a more obvious bureaucratic surfeit of the European political
construction. The author asserts that the Lisbon Treaty was a step towards
founding the EU on democratic principles inasmuch as it introduced
elements of participative democracy, although it did not accept proposals for
introduction of direct democracy in the EU. Finally, the author puts forward
some ideas which might reduce the degree of political alienation of citizens
in relation to the European Union; this requires giving greater authority to the
European Parliament, abolishing the monopoly of the legislative initiative of
the European Commission, incorporating the Council of the European Union
into the European Parliament as the second House, i.e. the European Senate,
and consequently implementing the mechanism of consulting the citizens regarding
the legislative initiatives of the EU. The author concludes that the
democratic deficit and political alienation cannot be overcome in the European
Union without overcoming the democratic deficits and concrete forms
of political alienation in the member states which the European Union consists
of.
Keywords
European Union; constitution; constitutionalisation; democracy; democratic deficit; political alienation; derivative community; Constitution for Europe; Lisbon Treaty; Zvonko Posavec
Hrčak ID:
81909
URI
Publication date:
14.5.2012.
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