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Is the EU undemocratic? | World news | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/13/is-the-eu-undem...

Is the EU undemocratic?
Leave campaigners claim that Britain is losing control of its affairs to unelected
bureaucrats in Brussels are they right?

Composite: Guardian Design

Jennifer Rankin
Monday 13 June 2016 14.28BST

The claim

Most Eurosceptics can agree on at least one thing: the EU is an undemocratic superstate
forcing pointless diktats on the peoples of Europe.

Leading leave campaigners, Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Gisela Stuart, have
described the EU as a dysfunctional bureaucracy that has no proper democratic
oversight.

Some reluctant remainers take it as self evident that the EU is not a democracy. When
Jeremy Corbyn voted against the Maastricht treaty in 1993, he declared it was because
the EU had handed control to an unelected set of bankers. More recently the Labour
leader has said the EU has always suered from a serious democratic decit.

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Is the EU undemocratic? | World news | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/13/is-the-eu-undem...

EU insiders have spent more than a generation fretting about the so-called democratic
decit a term coined by the British political scientist David Marquand in 1979.

Is the EU really undemocratic?

Unlike the United Nations or the World Trade Organisation, only democracies can join
the European Union. In theory, EU member states that slide back on democratic
standards can be sanctioned, although this is easier said than done.

But arent a bunch of unelected bureaucrats in charge?

Actually, they arent. When people talk about the unelected bureaucrats of Brussels,
they usually mean the European commission. The commission is an organisation like no
other: more than a civil service but less than a government. Composed of 28
commissioners one from each country the commission drafts, enforces and monitors
EU laws. But it does not pass laws.

That does not mean the commission is not powerful: the EU competition commissioner
can block mergers and ne multinational companies staggering sums computer chip
maker Intel was ned a record 1.06bn (then 852m) for anti-competitive practices. But
these powers rest on treaties and laws decided by EU governments. Similarly when it
comes to striking trade agreements, the commissions powers are restricted. The EU
trade commissioner negotiates on a mandate drawn up by EU member states the
opening of controversial TTIP talks with the US was based on a unanimous decision by
EU member states. If TTIP survives, it can only enter into force with the approval of
governments and the European parliament.

The commission cannot foist laws upon EU member states. For example, the
commission spent eight years trying to get EU countries to agree to a law on cleaning up
Europes contaminated soils, but eventually withdrew the bill in the face of an
immovable blocking majority, which included the UK.

Who really makes laws?

EU laws are agreed by two institutions: the council of ministers, comprising ministers
from 28 EU governments and the European parliament. The European council, EU
leaders meeting for regular late-night summits, plays an increasingly important role in
setting the agenda.

Isnt Britain always being outvoted?

One of the biggest gripes of Eurosceptics is the extension of qualied-majority voting,


which allows the British government to be outvoted. A swathe of EU policies are now
decided by these weighted-majority votes, such as environment, agriculture and
transport. More sensitive policies, including tax, defence and foreign policy, have to be
agreed by unanimity.

Under QMV, a law passes if it is backed by 16 out of 28 countries that make up at least
65% of the EU population. The UK has 13% of the EU population, so gets a 13% vote
share.

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Research by the London School of Economics found that the UK was on the winning side
87% of the time between 2009-15. So the British government does have to accept some
EU decisions it didnt vote for. One of the most high-prole losses in recent years, was
when the chancellor, George Osborne, was outvoted on an EU law to restrict bankers
bonuses. In this case, more than three quarters of the British public, including 68% of
Conservative voters, supported the EU proposal.

Is the European parliament just a talking shop?

MEPs have been directly elected since 1979, although voter turnout has been on a
downward trend ever since.

Many British MEPs argue they have more power to shape EU law than their Westminster
colleagues. British Labour MEP Richard Corbett contends that the House of Commons is
a rubber stamp parliament when it comes to shaping legislation: It is headline news if
[the Commons] amends a government bill, whereas here there is scarcely a piece of
legislation that will get through without being amended.

The European parliament also has the power to dismiss the commission and approves
the appointment of the politicians who lead it. Since 2014, MEPs have chosen who gets
to be president of the commission, although that extension of the parliaments power
has not lled EU leaders with joy.

Despite these powers, the parliament does not inspire voters. Barely one third of British
voters bothered to turn out in the 2014 elections and only one in 10 can name their MEP.
The parliament is increasingly inuential, but has a problem in connecting to its
electorate.

Doesnt Westminster get a say?

National parliaments can also throw a spanner in the works if they dont like an EU law.
If one third of national parliaments oppose a draft law, the commission must review it, a
procedure known as the yellow card. If more than half of national parliaments oppose a
law, this could force a vote in the European parliament or council, (the orange card). In
his February reform deal, the prime minister, David Cameron, persuaded EU leaders to
introduce a red card, meaning the commission would be forced to adapt or drop the law
if more than half of national parliaments objected. The yellow card has only been used
twice, the orange card has never been used and the red card will only come into force if
the UK votes to remain in the EU.

Is this as good as it gets?

The EU is not perfect. Voter turnout has been declining for years and public approval of
the European project has fallen in ve of the six largest member states, according to the
latest Pew Research Centre survey. Large numbers of people are unhappy with the EUs
handling of the economy and migration crisis.

If the EU does have a democratic decit, that is because it is made up of countries with
their own problems with public engagement in politics. Plus governments have a habit of
blaming Brussels when things go wrong, which feeds the idea of an unelected,

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Is the EU undemocratic? | World news | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/13/is-the-eu-undem...

untamed bureaucracy. As one senior EU ocial puts it: Anything you like you claim for
yourselves and anything you dont like you blame on Brussels.

Some believe the gulf between the EU and voters can be lled by more Europe-wide
democracy. Germanys nance minister, Wolfgang Schuble, has called for a directly
elected European commission president. Others, such as the former European council
president Herman Van Rompuy, have argued that direct elections would be meaningless
because, for example, a Polish conservative would not vote for a Luxemburger.

There are easier ways to give British voters more control over EU law. The Electoral
Reform Society thinks the UK parliament could play a bigger role in holding the EU to
account, by emulating the Danish approach to the EU. In Denmark, MPs question their
ministers and give them a negotiating mandate before they go to European councils,
whereas in the UK ministers inform parliament what happened afterwards. As the
council is the most powerful part of the EUs decision-making machine, this could have
more impact than Camerons red card.

Verdict: no dictatorship, but no democratic idyll

The idea that laws are dictated from Brussels by unelected bureaucrats is simply wrong.
In fact, EU laws have to pass high hurdles before they get onto the British statute book.
The British government has considerable clout in shaping those laws despite the growth
of qualied-majority votes.

When leave campaigners talk about laws made by Brussels, what they mean is laws
made by the EUs directly elected governments and more often than not the European
parliament through the co-decision procedure. Not as snappy, but more accurate.

But the EU does have problems. Voters mistrust the EU and are unfamiliar with its
unusual structure and multiple presidents. If the UK votes to stay, parliament could take
steps to close that gap. The Electoral Reform Society concluded: The EU has many
serious democratic aws. But the decit can be tackled.

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