THE SOLUTION TO THE 'DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT' : A NEW TYPE OF GOVERNANCE FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION?

Author: PECH L.

Source: Journal of European Integration, Volume 25, Number 2, June 2003 , pp. 131-150(20)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Without radically upsetting the institutional and political balance of the Union, the Commission's White Paper on Governance, published 25 July 2001, proposes a new basis for the EU's institutional legitimacy. However, this conceptual re-foundation gives rise to new and fundamental questions. To speak of governance within democracy is indeed unthinkable unless 'governance' is redefined as a form of government where the legitimacy of public action (as well as its efficiency) is made possible by a 'proceduralisation' of law. The failure to promote legitimacy with concepts borrowed from the vocabulary of the nation-state is nevertheless puzzling: should the 'participatory democracy' be considered a substitute for representative democracy? Even if this is not the case, it is uncertain whether 'participatory democracy' sufficiently embodies the democratic ideal, at least at the European Union level.

Keywords: Democracy; Governance; European Union; Legitimacy; Globalisation

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Institut d'Études Politiques, Aix-en-Provence

Publication date: 2003-06-01