Séance 3

Legitimacy and political support towards EU is there a «   democratic deficit  » in the EU? Is there
a “European public space”?

 Empirical legitimacy (Weber)

o Legitimacy exists where it is perceived to exist.
o Weberian sources of legitimacy:
 Charisma (fenómeno carismático cuestionado hoy en día, sobre cuál es el
líder más legítimo).
 Tradition.
 Legality.
 Normative legitimacy (lib democratic theorists)
o Legitimacy depends on established democratic ethics and principles:
 Representation
 Popular mandate for action
 Acceptable system for choice of government.
 Problems for the EU legitimacy (1)
o Empirical legitimacy; no sources of:
 Charisma
 Tradition
o How useful is legality in satisfying Weber’s criterion?
 Rutinización del carisma (problema).
 UE se sustenta en la rutinización del carisma de las instituciones fundadas
a la luz de la legitimidad.
 Autoridad entregada a las autoridades de la UE.
 Problems for the EU legitimacy (2)
o Normative legitimacy – Key elements of the democratic deficit.
 Lack of clear lines of accountability
 No occasion on which the people choose amongst options.
 European Council and Council of Ministers members mostly are elected,
but at one stage removed and not on the basis of European issues.
 EP (Parlamento europeo) is elected, but its powers are restricted.
 The possible four vectors for EU legitimacy
o Indirect legitimacy.
 The legitimacy of the EU and its institutions can at best be indirect or
derivative.
 It depends on the legitimacy of the Union’s component states, on its
respect for their sovereignty, ands on its ability to serve their purposes.
 This is a conclusion that is often drawn from historical studies that claim
all treaty authorization of Union power have been dominated by state
actors and state preferences.
 o Parliamentary legitimacy.
 Avery different view is that Union policies and institutions are best
legitimated by a combination of elected parliamentary bodies and
Member States.
o Technocratic Legitimacy.
 Union institutions are best legitimated through their ability to offer
“Pareto-improving” solutions. It matters less that they were once
authorized by Member State, or that they are exposed to the control of
parliamentary representatives than that they are technically able to
improve the welfare of the overwhelming majority of citizens in terms of
their own felt preferences.
o Procedural Legitimacy.
 Legitimacy may be positively related to the observance of certain
procedures: transparency, balance of interests, proportionality, legal
certainty and consultation of stakeholders.
 Input-output legitimacy
o It may be very useful to connect the four possible sources of EU legitimacy with
another distinction, that between legitimacy delivered at the input and output
stages of policy-making.
o In the case of indirect legitimacy, authorization by Member States and the delivery
of state preferences are the sources of input and output legitimacy respectively.
 Crossing the four vectors with the two types of legitimacy: the dual nature of EU
legitimacy.
Table 1: Input and Output Legitimacy under the Four Vectors.

Input Output
EU policies are legitimate to the EU policies are legitimate to the
extent they are based on the extent they deliver the following.
following.
Indirect Authorization by states State preference
Parliamentary Elections Voters Preference
Technocratic Expertise Efficiency
Procedural Due process and observance of Expanded rights
given rights

 Debates about the “democratic deficit”

o A concern within the EU since Nice European Council (2000).
o A general point: against what standards should we audit the democratic
performance of the EU?
 Abstract democratic theory? Or
 …what actually goes on in modern democracies?
o The myth of the democratic deficit?
  Developments in integration require member-state consent.
 Where expenditure is high (therefore taxation needed), EU as little
competence.
 Where expenditure, principles are agreed unanimously by member-states.
o Giandomico Majone. Why the EU is legitimate.
 EU is best conceived as a “regulatory polity”.
 As such does not compare to national polities.
 EU is a regulatory system so it must be efficient like a market.
 More democracy would mean more politicization so would lead to less
efficiency. The problem of Europe is not a hypothetical democratic deficit
but a credibility crisis.
o Simon Hix and Andreas Follesdal – what’s missing:
 Institutional design matters more than policy outcomes.
 The role of mass media in “European public space”.
o Mass media are recognized to be forums of political and social discussions and
conflicts, since they can either support or disrupt social integration.
o Mass media help people to orientate to political events and create possibilities for
citizens political participation, the also work as instruments of the political elite,
socialize, persuade and work on “public opinion”
 The EPS ideal schema: too beautiful to be true?
o A democratic political system of the EU with transparent power structures and
institutions.
o Actors who want to communicate information and opinions on Europe.
o Independent mass media with a diversity of information and opinions on Europe.
o Citizens that are interested in European topics and develop a European identity.
o Transformation of the public spheres into a debate on the European Union as a
whole.
o Lively public spheres with debates on specific European topics.