Europe and Democracy

Europe and Democracy , Chris Bickerton
May 15th 2006 - 8.15 Old Refrectory, Wadham College

Since the votes against the European Constitution in France and Holland in 2005,the EU has officially been in “period of reflection”. The dominantunderstanding of the ‘No’ votes was that they forced the EU to confront itsown “democratic deficit”. The EU has since made noises about wanting toimprove its “communication” with European electorates. The EU’s critics havedemanded reform: from strengthening the European Parliament to making the EUCommission more transparent.

• But does the source of the “democratic deficit”lie in Brussels?

• Should we be trying to build democracy in Europe when it isin such dire straits at home?

• Why are so many political problems transferredto the European level rather than dealt with by national parliaments?

ChrisBickerton, a PhD student at St Johns College, Oxford, argues that therelationship between nation states and the EU is driven by the degradation of national political life in Europe. In today’s political lexicon, ‘Europe’serves the same function as ‘globalization’ or ‘neoliberalism’. It expressestoday’s scepticism about our ability to bring society and the economy underour control. Solutions to the “democratic deficit” are not to be found inBrussels, but in efforts closer to home at recreating politics as a sphere ofactivity that concerns us all and in which we can each play a part.