Publication

This paper discusses the state of democracy in the EU and within its institutions. The author describes how observers often take it for granted that the EU suffers from a lack of democracy. He states that once the body is recognized for what it is – an innovative polity, where power is shared by a large number of players with many participation and influence-wielding mechanisms - it becomes apparent that on the whole it complies with democratic legitimization standards, even if multiple, and potentially conflicting legitimization channels and principles may confuse observers.