TITLE:
Building the Political Structure for Direct Citizen Participation in a European Federation
AUTHORS:
Manuel Galiñanes
KEYWORDS:
Direct Democracy, Division of Political Powers, European Union, European Federation, European Federal Constitution
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.13 No.4,
October
7,
2023
ABSTRACT: The European Union suffers from a deficit in democracy.
Policy-driven treaties cause insufficient coordination, speed, and efficiency
in their response to internal and external challenges. In order to create a
more democratic, effective, and integrated
policy in Europe, a Citizens’ Convention was held between October 2021
and April 2022. The objective of this Convention was to create a European Constitution that might serve as the basis of a
European Federation. The Convention agreed on three essential pillars to
achieve a robust and stable democratic
system in Europe: 1) the transfer of common powers from the European
States to the Federation, 2) a strict separation of the legislative, executive, and legal powers, and 3) direct citizens’
participation. Underpinned by these
principles, a number of structural and functional changes are proposed to achieve strong democratic
institutions, greater integration, and effective cooperation between the
European States.