How Democratic Is the EU?

The panellists explore the relationship between the European Union and democracy.

Members event, Panel Recording
25 September 2019 — 1:00PM TO 2:00PM
Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Academics have long disagreed over whether the EU suffers from a ‘democratic deficit’, debating whether its institutions lack accountability or fail to represent the ordinary citizen.

As European integration has continued in recent decades, and power has shifted from member state governments to Brussels while support for populist parties campaigning on eurosceptic grounds has grown, the debate has only intensified.

  • Does EU governance lack democratic legitimacy?

  • If so, can this be remedied?

  • Have efforts in Brussels to tackle perceptions of the EU as undemocratic, such as increasing the parliament’s powers, had any impact?

  • And along what lines – geographic, pro-European and anti-European, left and right – can this debate be understood?

Participants

Dr Andreas Rödder, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz

Gisela Stuart, Chair, Change Britain

Chair: Hans Kundnani, Senior Research Fellow, Europe Programme, Chatham House

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