The contributors to this book examine the issues of constitutional choice that face the governments and citizens of today's Europe. Divided into three sections this study addresses: questions of political legitimacy and the meaning of democratic deficit in the EU; the reality of what institutional reforms and decision making processes are possible; and the rights of citizenship and values that should be protected.
Author(s): M. Nentwich
Edition: 1998
Year: 1998
Language: English
Pages: 224
Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Contributors......Page 8
Series editor’s preface......Page 11
Abbreviations......Page 14
1 Introduction......Page 16
Political legitimacy and the democratic deficit......Page 18
Decision rules and the constitutional construction of the EU......Page 20
Citizenship and constitutional choice......Page 21
Constitutional choice after Amsterdam......Page 22
Conclusion......Page 25
Reference......Page 26
Introduction: legitimacy and the European Union......Page 30
Identity: who are the people?......Page 34
Authorisation, representativeness and accountability......Page 39
Performance......Page 42
Conclusion......Page 46
References......Page 47
Introduction: the double duty of ‘democracy’......Page 50
A contractualist account of legitimacy......Page 52
Justifying majority rule......Page 54
Against majority rule?......Page 57
Conclusion: the ends of Europe......Page 60
References......Page 62
Introduction......Page 66
A theory of democratic institutions......Page 67
Two traditions of democratic theory......Page 70
Institutional features of the European Union......Page 71
Competing conceptions of democracy......Page 73
Instead of a blueprint......Page 76
References......Page 77
5 Defending the democratic deficit......Page 80
The perpetuity clause......Page 81
Democratic accountability......Page 83
Provisional suprastatism......Page 86
Did the Court solve the problem?......Page 90
References......Page 94
Images of integration in the 1990s......Page 98
The new politics of co-determination......Page 100
From Gesellschaft to Gemeinschaft?......Page 101
Reforming the system......Page 102
Reflections on the institutional agenda......Page 104
Theorising reform......Page 106
‘Stirred, not shaken…’......Page 108
Conclusion......Page 109
References......Page 110
Political integration, institutional reform and the crisis of legitimacy......Page 112
Normative foundations of European integration......Page 113
Legitimising European governance: beyond majoritarian democracy......Page 116
Multiple accountability of the European Commission......Page 120
Conclusion: squaring the triangle?......Page 123
References......Page 124
The problem......Page 126
Upgrading the Parliament......Page 127
A contractarian approach......Page 128
Territorial and sectoral representation......Page 130
A system of veto rights......Page 131
The problem of decision-making efficiency......Page 134
Open questions......Page 135
Notes......Page 136
References......Page 137
Introduction......Page 140
Opportunity structures for citizens’ participation......Page 141
Petitions to the European Parliament......Page 142
Addressing the Ombudsperson......Page 143
Green and White Papers......Page 144
Being active in small interest groups......Page 145
Proceedings before the ECJ......Page 146
The political opportunity structure of the European Union......Page 147
Citizens’ involvement in EU politics: status quo and innovative proposals......Page 148
References......Page 152
Introduction......Page 158
The need for a constitution......Page 160
Broadening the concept of democracy......Page 161
Citizenship: what and for whom?......Page 162
Economic integration, the democratic deficit and the role of regions......Page 164
Objections......Page 167
Conclusion......Page 168
References......Page 169
11 European Union citizenship as a model of citizenship beyond the nation state......Page 172
The radical potential of EU citizenship......Page 173
The sadness of the potential? The EU and the citizen after Amsterdam......Page 177
References......Page 183
The political subject of democracy in normative and empirical dimensions......Page 186
European Union democracy......Page 189
EU citizenship as the institutional foundation of a European public sphere: possible developments......Page 193
Citizenship in the Amsterdam Treaty......Page 196
Concluding remarks......Page 197
References......Page 198
Preliminaries......Page 202
Liberal democracy, European and universal......Page 204
Environmental ethics and policies......Page 207
The compatibility of liberty and nature......Page 208
Conclusion: European CDM on environmental issues......Page 212
References......Page 214
Index......Page 216
