Böll Foundation Expert Roundtable on EU Democracy Crisis hosted at SPP

The excessive indebtedness of many member states has plunged the EU into a crisis of confidence in which the advantages of closer European integration are no longer apparent for many, while the risks have come to the fore. The debt crisis threatens to become one of EU legitimacy. An expression of this is an upsurge in anti-integration populist movements, which have great popular appeal in several countries.

The debt crisis has also shown that more political coordination and integration are necessary for a common currency union. At the same time, however, societal backing for expanded joint liability is disappearing. The answer to the EU's current problems of legitimacy must also entail a strengthening of European democracy.

Against this background, the Heinrich Böll Foundation commissioned a publication on the future of European democracy. In their study “The Future of European Democracy”, published in early 2012, Ulrich K. Preuß (Hertie School of Governance) and Claudio Franzius (University of Hamburg) argue for a “lively democracy” in the EU. At its core are competition among the (European) parties and direct participation in political decision-making on the part of citizens.

This study was presented and discussed on 5 October 2012 at the Central European University in Budapest in a roundtable co-organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Ecopolis Foundation, the Green European Foundation and the School of Public Policy at CEU. Another highlighted issue were the political developments in Hungary: how EU institutions and member states have reacted to these and what they can do to promote democratic renewal.