How Democratic Is The EU?

A new animation has been created by the University of Sheffield and ShoutOut UK to examine the democratic challenges ahead of the referendum on EU membership on 23 June.

Released with six weeks until polling day, the three-and-a-half minute clip asks the question: ‘How Democratic is the EU?’ It introduces how the EU is run, how these arrangements have come about and how we feel about Europe – providing a summary of recent academic debate concerning the organisation and structures of the EU, in the context of the Eurozone recession and refugee crisis.

[TheLoyalOfficer]

The video keeps saying "research shows the EU is becoming more democratic".

What research, exactly?

And if it's becoming MORE democratic, what was it BEFORE?

[pan]

Wtf, is russian flag doing in EU parliament XD

[UrBoiWilson]

You've missed the piont I think when people talk about a democratic deficit within the EU they will probably be talking about how unaccountable it is, not how repersenative it is.

[maxking]

sources of all the studies and research you mention would be helpful

[torinjones]

It seems to me that the British are only ever considered European by continentals when the continentals want something from the British.

[karlmunford]

1:26 - Juncker was the only candidate in a secret vote!

[nomore]

Revert back to the European Economic Community (EEC)

[markhorton]

This is so facile it would be laughable, had it not be done on such an important subject. How about describing how it actually works? Start out by saying that the grossly misnamed EU Parliament has no Legal Initiative. (Until then the definition of the word Parliament could have included legal initiative) That means it cannot create, modify or scrap any law or directive. It has had the right to make suggestions since the Lisbon Treaty, but has been ignored on almost every single occasion. ...

...The video fails to mention this, like so many things that EU propaganda, does because it knows full well that people will make the preferred and wrong assumption.

The Parliament also "elects" the president of the Commission. (According to things like Wikipedia) yet Barroso was simply imposed on them. Because people like Farage complained about that, the next president was elected. The ballot was SECRET because many like president Shultz insisted that the EU Parliament was an electorate. Farage pointed out that they are not an electorate, they are employees, and as such their employers the taxpayers, should know how their employees vote on their behalf. That was ignored, and more to the point when the ballot papers came out there was only one name on the ballot paper. Junker. Guess who won?
I could go on for hours about this sort of stuff. It is about how it actually works, not Disney cartoon versions of how the EU works.

[brianthesnail]

“The EU is democratising “so it wasn’t before ! And not much now

[uncletimo]

minute in and NOTHING is explained.
lots of talking to obfuscate.

[rad]

Not democratic at all, the parliament, which is the only elected part of the EU, has no power.

[danielverhulst]

There is no contact whatsoever between the European citizen and the European Union. Nobody watches the debates and they are also very difficult to follow due to all the different languages. And at the EU, they don't really have to worry about the press. Can something be a democracy if politicians cannot understand each other, if citizens do not know the politicians and politicians can ignore the press?

People tend to criticise the European Union for the lack of Democracy. I will not debate this question on an absolute political or ideological reference, because Democracy has a huge variety of combinations and degrees, since the Athenian version wherein the citizens, and only the citizens, voted directly on each executive measure to take, till the far-fetched representative Democracy in which people vote by double-proxy, like in the USA for example. In the USA, the citizens vote on electors from an electoral college, said members of this college voting then again to elect the president, said president then deciding later the executive measures to take. Hence, in the USA, the citizens decide on the measures to take, by double-proxy in chain. In many other democratic nations with two chambers, a similar double-proxy process is used to elect the members of the high chamber, like the Senate in the USA, Brazil ou Italy, or the House of Lords in the UK. And many of those who criticise the European Union for lack of Democracy, do not dare to say that the USA or the UK are not democratic. It is obvious that the European Union needs more patriotic feelings and a bit more of propaganda, exactly like the USA does with Hollywood. Just this can explain this enormous paradox on the public opinion, when one objectively compares the democratic instituions in the EU and in the USA.

Therefore, regarding Representative Democracy in the EU, it is relevant to say the following: the EU has three main institutions, the Parliament, the Council and the Commission, and all of them are as democratic, directly or indirectly, as any other democratic institution in any developed nation, like in the UK for example. European citizens vote directly for the European Parliament to elect its members (that's how Nigel Farage appeared there, for instance). As with respect to the members of the European Commission, they are appointed by the members of the European Parliament, exactly like any other parliament appoints the member of the corresponding government. Regarding the European Council, it is formed by the democratically elected national governments of the member states, being one nation equivalent to one vote, and therefore in the Council the vote of Malta has the same value as the vote of France. In the UK, for example, people do not vote directly for the government (nor the queen by the way); the British voters vote for their parliament, whose members later on appoint the government. Exactly as the European Parliament does with the European Commission. The obvious conclusion, I would say, is that the European Union needs not more democracy, she needs more marketing!

[elguapo]

Thought I'd revisit this clip after a year or more has passed....thank F**K we voted out of the EU! Phew!!

[laugesteffensen]

How about making a video "How bureaucratic is the EU?" i think we would be more close to know more about the EU that way...

[pebblepod]

This video is missing crucial info about the question of democracy by not including that the European COMMISSION ultimately have the power to propose legislation (the Parliament doesn't), and that they aren't democracticaly elected.

[gdas]

Interesting colours you've used on this subject!

[michelium]

Apperently Russia is in the EU :D Identify as European. I was born in the Netherlands so I identify as Dutch. The people of the EU weren't asked about the EU. It just happened. And now we have a parliament in Brussels taking decisions affecting our country. Kinda weird right.

[cldtriplosette]

can you put in the description box or in the comments the sources? thx the video was great

[timvanrijn]

europe need to change from a old folks home to fight club