What democracy for Europe?
During the past few months most politicians and commentators have praised the democratic progress in the Union. The fact that political parties announced their candidates for the Commission Presidency in advance of the elections for the European Parliament; the visits these “Spitzenkandidaten” paid to many cities in the Union; the lively exchanges that took place in the European Parliament during the confirmation hearings of the commissioners-designate, have been interpreted as major steps towards addressing the so-called democratic deficit in the European Union´s institutions. Some have said that the current Commission leadership benefits from a “very strong democratic legitimacy”.
