The Early Warning System: people’s indirect empowerment to reduce the democratic deficit

Abstract

The EU faces many challenges. Demagogic leaders and parties exploited them politically, lamenting a democratic deficit between the EU and the Member States, which resulted in a European ‘polycrisis’. The Lisbon Treaty’s Early Warning System is a mechanism that helps to foster National Parliaments, thus the relation with legislators and citizens, as well as with the EU. However, this so-called Virtual Third Chamber might be a suitable tool to answer populist claims of democratic deficit. With it, National Parliaments might monitor European activities and proposal-making closer. Not only do they work at the nation-state level, but they are more involved at the inter-state and European levels. The Early Warning System can reduce people’s perceptions of democratic deficit and though indirectly, increase their sense of participation in European policy-making. With the System, the National Parliaments are new (indirect) legislators at the European level, with more opportunities to prevent possible breaches of the subsidiarity principle. The System assures more citizen-institutions integration, resulting in a stronger EU.