“Europeanizing” the European elections
the case for a pan-European constituency in the context of the European public sphere debate
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60054/PEU.2023.10.96-104Keywords:
public sphere, EU, elections, constituency, transnational listsAbstract
The European Union today is facing multiple challenges with long-term economic, but also societal effects, which require unity and solidarity more than ever to safeguard common European interests, but also pragmatic approaches to consider and respect Member States’ diversity. However, worrying trends show that democracy is sliding in some EU Member States, while radicalisation, disinformation and populism is reshaping the political landscape in practically all countries. The paper explores the role of the public sphere in shaping democracy and legitimacy of the supranational institutions and processes of European integration at times of crisis. The analysis draws from the theoretical research on public spheres and the European Union context in particular (Habermas, Risse, Eriksen and Fossum) to emphasize the role of unconstrained debate and democratic discussion for the formation of broader public consensus on key EU integration issues. From this theoretical perspective, the recent initiative (2022) by European Parliament to revisit EU’s election laws and to establish a pan-European constituency, is analysed. The paper ends with discussion on whether such developments can be a step towards bringing the EU closer to a true parliamentary democracy and solving some of the transparency and accountability challenges faced by the Union, and what the main current challenges are.
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