Can the EU be a federal democracy? Assessing the horizontal and vertical dimension of the EU government from comparative perspective

Jared Sonnicksen

doi:10.1057/s41295-021-00265-2

Abstract

The European Union remains an ambivalent polity. This uncertainty complicates the assessment of its democratic and federal quality. Drawing on comparative federalism research can contribute not only to making sense of whether, or rather which kind of federalism the EU has developed. It can also enable addressing such a compounded, but necessary inquiry into the federal and democratic character of the EU and how to ascertain which type of democratic government for which type of federal union may be appropriate. The article first elaborates a framework to assess the dimensions of federal and democratic government, drawing on comparative federalism research to delineate basic types of federal democracy. Here the democratic dimension of government is taken as referring primarily to the horizontal division of powers (among ‘branches’) of government, the federal dimension to the vertical division of powers (among ‘levels’) of governments. The framework is applied to the government of the EU in order to gauge its own type(s) of division of power arrangements and the interlinkage between them. Finally, the discussion reflects on whether or rather how the EU could comprise a federal democracy, especially in light of recent crisis challenges and subsequent institutional developments in EU governance.

Highlights

The European Union has experienced far-reaching integration in multiple policy areas, expanded scope of powers, and even the introduction of a Union citizenship
Rather than chart the European Union in its entirety as political system, the purpose is to capture the organization of branches and levels of government, with a specific view to determining, or approximating, its type of federal democracy
Surmising from the concise sketch above, the EU vertical division-of-powers dimension encompasses multiple elements of federalism—even if not nominally so. These features range from dualistic separation-of-powers federalism, an extensive scope of cooperative federalism, and not least the joint decision and administration of European legal acts

Summary

Introduction

The European Union has experienced far-reaching integration in multiple policy areas, expanded scope of powers, and even the introduction of a Union citizenship. This combination entails more sharing and even blending between executive and legislative, as in a parliamentary democracy, and is more cooperation and interdependence oriented, as in cooperative and especially joint decision-making federalism, with multiple institutionalized interlinkages between levels of government.

Results

Conclusion