Direct Democracy in the EU The Myth of a Citizens’ Union

EPIN-2CU Paper  (2018)

The state of democracy in the European Union is a subject of constant debate. While some have argued that concern about the ‘democratic deficit’ is misplaced, the prevailing sense is nevertheless that the EU has a democracy problem. This sense of a problem is compounded by recent figures about the decline of electoral democracy and the protection of civil liberties, including freedom of expression and backsliding on the rule of law in a growing number of member states. In Europe’s patchwork of political cultures, languages, national memories and diverse press channels, the algorithms behind social media are polarising people in a way not seen since the creation of the EU. The seismic shock of the Brexit referendum and the electoral upsets by nativist and Eurosceptic parties across the continent show that, in the EU too, “all politics is local”.