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The EU is, and always has been, characterized by its “democratic deficit”.
Critically evaluate this statement by reference to the composition and function of the EU institutions.
The term ‘democratic deficit’ refers to an alleged lack of democracy within the EU institutions, because EU citizens do not feel that they can hold the EU institutions accountable, in particular through direct elections, in the same way that they can their national governments.
Arguments which support the existence of such a deficit include the following. First, the Council, which has significant powers to adopt (or veto) legislation, and to set the political priorities of the EU, is not directly elected. Second, the Commission, with its legislative powers and ability to enforce EU law, is not elected at all. Third, the European Parliament has less power than the Council and the Commission. Fourth,voter turnout in European Parliamentary elections is low. Fifth, all of these institutions are based far away geographically from most voters.
Counter arguments include the following. First, the members of the Council are directly elected. It is true that they are elected to other roles which then qualify them to be members of the Council, but nonetheless they are accountable directly to their electorate. Second, the Commission can only be appointed with the approval of the Council and the European Parliament – and of course that Parliament is directly elected. Furthermore, it is not common for senior civil servants – which is effectively what the Commissioners are - to be elected. Third, the European Parliament has considerable power, including the right to veto or adopt (jointly with the Council) much legislation and the budget, and can hold the other institutions to account through, for example, examination of their reports, questioning of their members and, of course, approval (or not) of the Commission and the right to dismiss it in its entirety. Fourth, voter turnout is also low in many local and national elections but this is a voter choice – it does not mean that the institution which is being elected lacks democratic accountability. Fifth, many Member States are highly centralised, so that their voters feel equally far from the centres of national power.
In conclusion, although the powerful Council and Commission are not directly elected, members of the Council are (largely) indirectly elected, and MEPs are directly elected and have considerable power.The EU institutions have, in fact, become ever more democratically accountable over time; for example the introduction of direct elections to the European Parliament and the extension of its powers to include the joint right of legislative decisionmaking with the Council, at least where the ordinary legislative procedure (OLP) applies. The problem of the democratic deficit may be more one of perception – a lack of connection felt by many EU citizens towards the EU.