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(22) EU Integration
Created on Tuesday, 10 November 2015 06:58 | Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 November 2015 06:58 | 
Andrew Moravcsik discusses democracy and the EU at a CEU conference
Democracy in the European Union
Democracy and the European Union
The EU’s alleged democratic deficit is subject to much debate. Arguments against the democratic shortcomings of the Union are varied and come from many quarters, but there is general agreement among many observers that the EU’s ruling elites have become increasingly out of touch with its citizens. We will present a synthesis of the main arguments that have been advanced. Having analysed some of the apparent problems of legitimacy and democracy within the EU, we then explore possible ways of overcoming them. The word ‘democracy’ derives from two Greek terms: ‘demos’ meaning people and ‘kratia’ signifying rule of or by. Many people therefore see democracy as meaning ‘people power’, with government resting on the consent of the governed. A democratic political system is one in which public policies are made, on a majority basis, by representatives subject to effective popular control at periodic elections which are conducted on the principle of political equality and under conditions of political freedom.
The European Union has often been criticised for its lack of democratic institutions and for the way in which they operate. In a speech in 1994, Sir Leon Brittan, a former British commissioner, identified ‘a widespread sense of unease about Brussels and what it stands for’.
(21) EU Integration
Created on Friday, 23 October 2015 07:26 | Last Updated on Friday, 23 October 2015 07:26 |
EU budgetary process
The EU budget is a contentious issue that has, on occasion, been the cause of considerable debate and conflict among the member states. Because of the controversies of the early 1980s, it was agreed at the 1988 Brussels Summit that it would be better if there was agreement between the institutions on the overall size and structure of the Union’s income and expenditure for a period of five or seven years ahead. In the Interinstitutional Agreement on Budgetary Discipline and Improvement of the Budgetary Procedure, it was accepted that there should be a financial framework for the immediate years ahead. This became known as the financial perspective (FP) and it covered the period 1988-1992 (Delors I). Subsequently, the other financial perspectives have been fixed for 1993-1999 (Delors II), 2000-2006, 2007-2013 and 2014-2018.
(14) European Union Model
Created on Friday, 16 October 2015 07:04 | Last Updated on Friday, 16 October 2015 07:05 |
Creating a competitive EU labour market for the 21st centur
LABOUR MARKET (INCLUDING LABOUR FORCE SURVEY)
Welfare to Work
Replacing or supplementing labor market incomes?
Social policy evens out the distribution of income. It prevents social unrest, it satisfies the taxpayers’ sense of justice and it insures against random variations in people’s lifetime careers. Ideally, it insures risks that are not privately insurable, either because risk markets suffer from adverse selection or because private insurance comes too late in a person’s life, when the veil of ignorance has already been lifted.
(2) EU Foreign & Security Policy
Created on Tuesday, 06 October 2015 09:18 | Last Updated on Tuesday, 06 October 2015 09:18 |
EU plans new strategy on foreign and security policy
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union
Why and how have the EU and its Member states developed a Mediterranean dimension of JHA? What were the motivations to ‘go external’ in the field of JHA? Was it the result of ‘unintended consequences’, or did actors willingly bypass institutional constraints because of rational calculations (both domestic and supranational)? What were the actors’ incentives to develop a Mediterranean dimension of JHA? Was it purely motivated by security concerns? To what extent have legacies influenced the development of a JHA external dimension? Did the Mediterranean partners influence the development of a JHA Euromed agenda? Which institutions were really important in developing an external dimension of JHA? Did the pillar structure and its related institutional set-up, across which the JHA policies extend, constrain actors? All these questions lie at the heart of the thoughts and are approached from a new institutionalist angle. While the case studies selected reflect developments that took place during the 2005-2009 period, I also take into account the changes introduced by the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009.
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