Democratic Legitimacy of the EU and the Lack of a European Public Sphere

Based on the above description of a public sphere, it does not seem that the EU has a public sphere of its own. At the top of the European governance structure, political elites from different countries have become better and better integrated, whereas at the bottom, the European peoples remain divided. From the European Council to the Council, the COREPER, and the countless comitologies, EU institutions have served as an important apparatus to facilitate transnational

integration for political elites as well as for professionals. In contrast, mechanisms for facilitating integration at the level of the European public are lagging far behind.

Studies have shown that, as a result of socialization taking place at the European level, states and state agents tend to switch from following logic of consequences to logic of appropriateness.²⁸ “[S]ocialization effects blur the principal-agent distinction. The ironic description of the German representative at COREPER as ‘permanent traitor’

instead of ‘permanent representative’ highlights this point as well. To the extent that national agents develop distinctive identities and supranational allegiances, they become detached from their national constituency.”²⁹

The extra tier of governing body not only treats the Union as a single political unit when it governs, but it is also extremely proactive and imposing. The governed, in contrast, are bound to be passive due to the fact that, confined in the national boundaries of each Member State, the peoples are isolated from one another.

“Integration has not…fostered the normative qualities necessary for the nurturing of a European civicness at the grassroots. Notwithstanding the contrary rhetoric, recent treaty reforms…. have failed to rectify this democratic deficiency. Rather, the EU project became even more technical, reflecting the prevalence of a new regulatory aetiology of ‘post-parliamentary governance’ based on ‘expertology’, ‘managerialism’, and ‘technocratic elitism’.”³⁰ From this perspective, the EU has indeed acquired some strong characteristics of a state, but strictly at the elite level.

That Europe lacks a PS is not a view shared by all. The existence of European audio-visual spaces (newspapers, television, internet), academic debate, cross-border social movements, NGOs, and identity politics indicates, to some, that a European public sphere (EPS) is ‘not totally missing’ (Eriksen 2000; 2005; Eriksen & Fossum 2002). If we heed the functional aspects of the PS highlighted in the previous sections, however, it becomes clear that the mere free flow of ‘flat’ information and voice

28 Checkel 2005, 804.

29 Zürn and Checkel 2005, 1073.

30 Chryssochoou 2001. 7; Andersen and Burns 1996.

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utterance in a cross-national space do not by themselves constitute a PS. Rather, the claim that an EPS is present must be supported by empirical evidence showing that the knowledge of, dialogue among, and power to influence European public policies by the citizens have not only increased but also transcended the national boundaries.

Surveys show that the knowledge of citizens about the EU did not correspond to the rapid growth of competencies in the EU and increased only marginally over the past decade in spite of the increased European news-reporting (Figures 8).

Figure 8: Self-perceived knowledge of the EU

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1997 EB48 1998 EB49 1998 EB50 1999 EB51 1999 EB52 2000 EB53 2000 EB54 2001 EB55 2001 EB56 2002 EB57 2002 EB58 2003 EB59 2003 EB60 2004 EB61 2004 EB62 2005 EB63 2005 EB64

%

Source: Standard Eurobarometer 48-64

Similarly, the awareness of the EU institutions through media improved only marginally over the past seven years (Figure 9). The percentage of respondents that had heard of the Council of Ministers—arguably the most powerful institution in the EU—rarely exceeded 65%.

Figure 9: Awareness of the EU institutions: Have you ever heard of….

1999 EB51 1999 EB52 2000 EB53 2000 EB54 2001 EB55 2001 EB56 2002 EB57 2002 EB58 2003 EB59 2003 EB60 2004 EB61 2004 EB62 2005 EB63

The European Parliament The European Commission The European Central Bank The Court of Justices The Council of Ministers

Source: Standard Eurobarometer 51-63

Compared to the 37% of the respondents in a recent European Voice survey who said they do not understand the way their national governments operate, 64% of the respondents said they do not understand the way the EU institutions operate. More significantly, a large majority (82%) feels that the EU institutions communicate poorly with them (European Voice 2006). Overall, the Europeans do not seem to be satisfied with the amount of EU news covered by national media (figure 10). In spring 2004, when the European Convention was concluding its work, as many as 42% of the respondents felt that the media coverage of the EU was too little. There is no steady improvement of citizen perceptions towards the amount of media coverage on the EU over time.

Figure 10: Assessment of amount of news coverage of EU affairs

8 9 11 12 11

1998 EB50 1999 EB51 1999 EB52 2000 EB53 2000 EB54 2001 EB55 2001 EB56 2002 EB57 2002 EB58 2003 EB59 2003 EB60 2004 EB61 2004 EB62 2005 EB 63

%

Too much About right Too little

20

Source: Eurobarometer 50-63

The indifference of the citizens towards EU affairs is also evident in surveys that asked citizens how much attention they paid to a list of issues. Invariably over the years, EU affairs ranked behind social issues, the environment, sport, culture, the economy, politics, and foreign-policy/international affairs (Figure 11). When asked about the frequency of talking about national or local issues in a recent survey, 44%

answered ‘everyday’, 8% answered ‘hardly ever’. When asked about the frequency of talking about European issues, in contrast, only 7% answered ‘everyday’, and 29%

answered ‘hardly ever’ (European Voice 2006; Table 1).

Figure 11: How much attention do people pay to news in the following areas?

51

Source: Standard Eurobarometer 52, 55, 57

Table 1

Source: European Voice 2006