THE ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT THE EUROPEAN UNION’S DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

Year 2008, Volume: 12 Issue: 1, 851 - 864, 01.06.2008

Cemil Kaya

Abstract

Avrupa Birliği hiç şüphesiz dünyada önemli bir aktör konumundadır. Almış olduğu kararlar, doğrudan doğruya Avrupa Birliği vatandaşlarının günlük yaşamlarını büyük ölçüde etkilemektedir. Bu nedenle demokratik meşruiyet konusu, hem Avrupa Birliğinin, vatandaşları tarafından algılanma tarzını etkilemesi hem de genişleme süreci öncesi özel dikkat gerektirmesi açısından önem arzetmektedir. Bu anlayış ışığında çalışmanın amacı, kurumsal bakış açısı doğrultusunda mevcut haliyle Avrupa Birliği içinde ne kadar demokratik boşluk olduğunu ortaya koymaktır. Konunun çok geniş bir boyutunun bulunması nedeniyle makale, kurumsal oluşum ve karar alma süreci bağlamında Avrupa Parlamentosu, Avrupa Komisyonu ve Bakanlar Konseyine odaklanacaktır

Keywords

Avrupa Birliği, Meşruiyet, Demokratik Boşluk, Democratic Meşruiyet

THE ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT THE EUROPEAN UNION’S DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is a substantial player on the world scene. Its decisions affect profoundly the daily life of the Union citizens directly. Therefore, democratic legitimacy is of fundamental importance since it is not only the one which affects the way in which the Union is perceived by its citizens, but also the one which requires crucial attention for the success of the enlargement process. In the light of this understanding, the aim of this article is to deduce to what extend a democratic deŞ cit exists within the EU in terms of the institutional perspective. Indeed, this is a broad issue and, as such, will focus primarily on the European Parliament (EP), European Commission (EC) and the Council of Ministers in terms of institutional design and the decision-making process

Keywords

European Union, Legitimacy, Democratic Defi cit, Democratic Legitimacy

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