The European Union Essay Example for Free

The European Union Essay The decisions and procedures of the institutions of the EU have failed to achieve the objective of the European Union to promote democracy in Europe and there is a lack of legitimacy and accountability. Moreover, the proposed European Constitutional Treaty was rejected in referendums conducted in France and the Netherlands. Opinion polls have clearly indicated that citizens of Europe are showing indifference and hostility towards the functioning of the European Union’s institutions and its policies . The principal decision making institutions of the EU are the European Parliament and the European Commission, whose members are elected democratically. Legislations proposed by the Commission to the Council are carried out in order to implement the policies of the EU . The Commission dominates over the other institutions of the EU due to its exclusive competence in the executive. National Parliaments face considerable difficulty in complying with the controls and regulations of the EC. In addition, most of the technical and intricate issues have to comply with regulations made by the committees, which consist of technocrats rather than democratic institutions. Moreover, interpretation of the directives and regulations issued by the EC is difficult and requires a deep understanding of the ECJ’s case law. Furthermore, Community law overrides national legislation and national courts have to seek the ECJ’s intervention, while interpreting EU law. In addition, the EU law supersedes primary legislation . The European Commission implements its policies and legislative acts through the process of comitology in which experts from Member States and representatives of the Commission participate. The goal of this process is to enforce supranationalism . However, comitology fails to provide decisional autonomy to the Member States, does not interact with the affected parties who do not have any representation. The net effect is that comitology impedes legitimate governance . Without scrutiny and review of the affected parties’ representations, there can be no compliance with the democratic spirit . The European Parliament was endowed with deliberative qualities and represents the entire European population, which rendered it undemocratic. The European Union is an intricate combination of several frameworks such as the parliamentary system and the regulatory structure. The ECJ, which was instrumental in establishing the EU, strives hard to promote democracy in the EU . BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.Democracy within the European Community, 11 October, 2007, http://www. revision-notes. co. uk/revision/892. html. 2. Erik Oddvar Eriksen and John Erik Fossum, Democracy through strong publics in the European Union? , 11 October, 2007, http://www. arena. uio. no/publications/wp01_16. htm. 3. Joerges, C. and Vos, E. EU Committees: Social Regulation, Law and Politics, Oxford: Hart Publishing, 1999. 4. Professor Vernon Bogdanor, Legitimacy, Accountability And Democracy, January 2007, 11, October, 2007, http://www. fedtrust. co. uk/admin/uploads/FedT_LAD. pdf.