The problem of “democratic deficit” in the European Union

Issue: №12/3, 2019

Doi: https://doi.org/10.37634/efp.2019.12(3).2

In this article we analyze the causes and effects of the problem of democratic deficit in the European Union (EU). In this article the author determined the essence of problem «democracy deficit» and also it was explored in the activity and functioning of the EU institutions. Issues of pan-European identity were also investigated and the consequences of its absence were analyzed, which is a separate component of the problem under study. The author also analyzes some ways of solving the problem of «democracy deficit» in the EU. Also, the author investigated attitude to this problem that was described in different sources. We determined the attitude of the citizens of the EU to this union. The author made conclusion about that the EU has the problem of «democracy deficit», but we can’t say that the EU is undemocratic union. We also agree that the EU has made some good steps on the way of solving this important problem, but it isn’t enough. The author supports the idea of making some information company for informing the citizens about activities and functioning of the EU. We think that the EU should make a decision about a single electoral system. The author supports the conception of deliberative democracy that means attraction citizens of the EU to the process of discussion and making the decisions. And the author says that the issue of democracy deficit has two main aspects: at first, the problems of the functioning of the political system of the European Union; secondly, the lack of pan-European identity, the problem of bringing the EU closer to citizens and their disinterest in Union policy.

Keywords : The European Union, the problem of "democratic deficit", legitimacy, EU institutions

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