2020

Seeking work and shelter in another EU country proves more difficult today than at the end of the last century. Despite existing EU legislation, national administrations seem reluctant to facilitate the residence of certain European citizens. Julien Bois calls for the European Commission to again clarify citizens’ free-movement rights, taking into account societal and judicial developments and administrative practices that have developed in the last 15 years.

Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 30 November 2020

The reforms in the EU’s economic and financial governance structure in response to the Euro crisis have been put to the test by the Coronavirus pandemic. While the resurfacing of the sovereign debt crisis has highlighted the inadequacies of the Union’s fiscal policy reforms, the relative stability of the banking system so far hints at a partial success of the banking union. Philipp Lausberg argues that the EU recovery fund is a step in the right direction, while a completion of the banking union needs priority to prevent a banking crisis should the EU face a post-pandemic recession period.

Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 28 July 2020

The aim of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is to harmonise asylum procedures across the European Union. As several crises have shown, however, this goal is far from being achieved, and a reform of Europe’s asylum policy is long overdue. Radu-Mihai Triculescu argues that such reform should also incorporate the perspective of street-level bureaucrats implementing the joint system in each EU member state. His original research suggests that the experience of these workers can offer the insights needed to make a generalised European asylum policy enforceable at the national level.

Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 27 July 2020

Although European financial regulation directly affects citizens as consumers, it is only to a limited extent exposed to public debate. There has also been widespread criticism that European regulators were too close to the financial sector, both before and after the financial crisis. The EU introduced permanent advisory councils, so-called Stakeholder Groups, to include more diversified societal interests in the shaping of new regulation. Despite these efforts, Bastiaan Redert finds that the instrument largely disadvantaged consumer interests over the financial industry rather than ensuring truly balanced information.

Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 20 April 2020

Can participatory democracy be the solution to the EU’s democratic deficit? This seems to be the European Commission’s intention with launching the Conference on the Future of Europe. If this is to work, the Conference must however itself be democratically legitimate. Based on past experiences, Camille Dobler gives four recommendations for citizens’ consultations.

Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 20 March 2020

By constraining the powers of executives and developing a political culture of accountability, national parliaments play a key role in the fight against corruption. However, their normative powers may be marginalized in the process of democratic consolidation. Based on original research from three European states, Emilija Tudzarovska-Gjorgjievska argues that weak parliaments contribute to the vicious cycle of corruption when they give a pretence of legitimation but do not act as democratic institutions proper.

Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 26 February 2020

In the wake of the financial crisis, EU governments spent taxpayers’ money to rescue European banks. That displaced a financial crisis into political systems by straining public finances and social protections in all EU member states. Some states were brought to the point of insolvency, and the survival of the EU’s single currency, perhaps even of the EU itself, was threatened. But is the EU experiencing a legitimacy crisis? By Chris Lord

Post-Crisis Democracy in Europe blog, 23 February 2020