Beyond the EU’s democratic deficit: From union of states to European democracy

Abstract

The democratisation of the EU is a historic achievement, which poses great challenges. This article argues that the EU has overcome its democratic deficit and that the nature of the Union has been defined in unambiguous terms. It will be demonstrated that the 2007 Lisbon Treaty defines the EU as a democratic union of democratic states. Moreover, the European Court of Justice has elaborated this concept in its jurisprudence with sound legal reasoning. The implication of this analysis for political theorists and constitutional lawyers is that the EU has outgrown its democratic deficit. Taking this approach enables politicians to refute the claim that the EU is not a real democracy and to present it as a union of states and citizens which works as a European democracy. The immediate challenges for the Union are to improve its democracies and to defend them against both erosion from within and foreign aggression.