Reinforcing the Democratic Legitimacy of the European Union

In advance of the upcoming debate on EU reform during the “Conference on the Future of Europe”, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung EU-Office commissioned a policy study to identify the most important aspects how to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the European Union. The authors of the Institut für Europäische Politik tackle major deficiencies of the EU’s democratic legitimacy and provide recommendations for enhancing it. They conclude that European elections must become more meaningful, that civil society and citizens’ involvement should be organized in a bottom-up way and that European economic policy needs more direct accountability.

The FES EU-Office will present and discuss the main findings of the study together with the authors and EU experts from Brussels and across Europe.

Please find the policy recommendations here.

Contact: Marco.Schwarz(at)fes-europe.eu