The Democratic Deficit Debate in the European Union. Is There a Democratic Deficit in the European Union?

      Аннотация: The idea of the integration we live in today was born after World War II. At the outset of the European integration there were only six countries establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and their aim was to maintain peace and prosperity. In order to fulfil this aim, supranational institutions were established. With the development of the European Community more and more power has been delegated to the supranational institutions and therefore from the 1980s articles, studies, books started to be published dealing with the European Community from a democratic point of view. A number of critics were written stating that the integration suffers from a democratic deficit. The question raised in this book is the following: Is there a democratic deficit in the EU? In order to receive an answer, first the term democratic deficit itself is focused on (what is meant by it and how it relates to the European Union) and then the EU Institutions and the Constitutional Treaty of the European Union are concentrated on. This work should especially be useful for anyone who is interested in politics and wants to study the system of the EU more deeply.

Ключевые слова: Accountability, Transparency, legitimacy, democracy, Democratic Deficit, european parliament, European Commission, Council of the European Union, European Central Bank, constitution