A democratic future for the European Union

The first of March 2017 the President of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker presented The White Paper on the Future of Europe. It is an invitation to an honest and wide-ranging debate on how Europe should evolve in the years to come. The purpose is to end a safe passage towards democratic legitimacy and prosperity for Europe and the Union. Fortunately, it is surprisingly easy to bring a logical order to the discussion if we accept the need for flexible integration. However, we need also to extend the discussion to embrace institutional issues and explore the federal organization of responsibilities.

In “A democratic future for the European Union”, Lars Anell contributes to the discussion initiated by Juncker and The White Paper on the Future of Europe. Anells starting point is that we must consider supranational decisions as legitimate but also vitalize democracy in the member states. He warns of a transfer of competences to the Union that should reasonably be in the member states. If national policy is emptied on its content, we put the democracy at stake. Democracy is not just a set of rules. It must also have content.