One major criticism of the E.U. has concerned its “democratic
deficit.” The European Commission, the E.U.’s executive branch, has taken most
of the criticism because the bureaucrats are not elected. Even though the
European Council consists of elected state executives, the state legislatures
are viewed as “closer to the people” and therefore more democratic. At the E.U.
level, the European Parliament is the most directly democratic, as the EP’s
representatives are directly elected by E.U. citizens. Therefore, one means of
reducing the “democratic deficit” has been to increase the Parliament’s
authority relative to those of the Commission and the Council. Lest it be
thought that this solution has no drawbacks, the case of whether E.U. ships
should be permitted to be beached for recycling in South Asia illustrates a
problem.
From: "Federalism and the Democratic Deficit: The E.U. as Suboptimal?"
From: "Federalism and the Democratic Deficit: The E.U. as Suboptimal?"