Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

A new ‘mode of action’ for Europe—prioritising the polity

Sophie Pornschlegel 24th July 2019

In the latest contribution to our ‘Europe2025’ series, Sophie Pornschlegel argues the EU needs to rethink its mode of action, in addition to tackling the pressing policy challenges ahead.

mode of action
Sophie Pornschlegel

A new politico-institutional cycle begins in the European Union. Besides appointing new decision-makers to head the institutions, this is an opportunity for the EU to review its agenda and priorities for the coming years. The European Council published is Strategic Agenda in June and on July 16th Ursula von der Leyen presented her political guidelines, to win endorsement as incoming European Commission president, in the European Parliament.

While the council and the commission will focus on various policy areas, which ‘mode of action’ the EU chooses often remains under the radar. Yet, rather than the discourse on the methods of integration being delegated to academia, decision-makers should rethink their strategy on moving forward in Europe—especially if they want to ensure the EU has the capacity to act and regains its eroded legitimacy.

The union needs to focus on its polity: arising from the integration methods it chooses are the structural reforms it decides to adopt. None of the traditional methods—a neofunctionalism assuming an automaticity of ‘spillovers’ or an intergovernmentalism wary of pooled sovereignty—is appropriate to today’s challenges. Unfortunately, the current trends point towards a power shift back to the European capitals. This is why the EU institutions should strategically rethink their mode of action—possibly based on a new version of the multi-speed Europe, to balance the interests of those who want faster progress with those who are less willing to go forward together while avoiding stagnation.

Deeper conflict lines

To find a constructive way forward, the deeper issues and conflict lines at the core of the EU will have to be addressed first—even more so since the EU has had to tackle a complex ‘polycrisis’ in recent years.

First, the ‘output legitimacy’ on which the EU has traditionally relied (what it delivers) has been increasingly transcended by a need for ‘input legitimacy’ (the voice it provides). This is not so much an issue for a democracy at national level but it is for a political system with a sui generis architecture which suffers from a democratic deficit. The European Citizens’ Initiative, more powers for the European Parliament and citizens’ consultations have been first steps to counter this lack of citizen engagement.

As the constitutional lawyer Dieter Grimm pointed out decades ago, however, without a European public sphere there cannot be a demos which decides and acts together in solidarity. This is why the EU has permanently to reconcile the ‘union of states’ and the ‘union of citizens’—and has to work at the intersection between an intergovernmental body and a federation. It has failed to balance these two core aspects, focusing mostly on member states and thus becoming a technocratic body far removed from the reality of its citizens.

Secondly, the Franco-German alliance which in the past led European integration has stalled. Germany is reluctant to abandon its conservative positions, frustrating a proactive French government over the past two years. And emerging alliances—such as the Visegrad countries on migration issues and the New Hanseatic League on economic and financial issues—will lead to a shift in the power dynamics. There has also been resistance by smaller countries against decision-making by the large ones. Who will be the frontrunners of European integration thus remains an important question.

The shift from output to input legitimacy, the dual nature of the EU’s democracy (states and citizens) and these developing geographical divides and alliances all need to be taken into account in the decision-making processes, in a much more comprehensive manner.

A democratic EU

Building a democratic EU is not a piece of cake. A few measures could, however, help reduce the democratic deficit.

First, much stronger exchange and dialogue platforms, to ‘burst the Brussels bubble’, would channel the diverging views and enable a broader range of actors to develop their stance on EU affairs—building a political debate which goes beyond the ‘closed doors’ of the EU institutions. This requires much stronger bi-, tri- and multilateral co-operation, not only on the part of top decision-makers but also among the civil-society actors: trade unions, associations, local governments and regions.

The Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee are existing consultative bodies which could have much more prominent roles in the decision-making process. EU institutions should further strengthen civil-society organisations, such as trade unions or consumer-protection associations, and institutionalise relations with them.

Secondly, the EU needs to complement its institutional architecture. For instance, it could design a long-term strategy on how to include citizen voices in its institutional setting. The development of ‘future councils’ and deliberative fora at EU level would ensure a permanent dialogue with citizens and include them in the decision-making process, in a more sustainable way than through one-off citizens’ dialogues in which the self-selection bias is extremely strong. The planned ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ announced by von der Leyen should therefore go beyond a ‘nice-to-have’ public-relations event.

Thirdly, the EU shouldput at the forefront of its agenda measures to promote a European public sphere. The Spitzenkandidaten process failed this time because it lacked the necessary support. That does not mean it is dead—rather, it needs to be complemented. Transnational lists should be proposed in such a way that citizens understand what candidates they vote for. European political parties need to be reformed to ensure better co-ordination of national party lines. In addition, bilateral co-operation between national parliaments should be strengthened. The Franco-German parliamentary assembly created in 2018 is a step in the right direction.

Creating a European public sphere also requires more ambitious investments in educational and civic-engagement programmes, as well as in vocational and professional exchanges across the EU. Creating a European social network as well as a European media domain, including TV, radio and online—not only for EU affairs but more generally to promote the European ‘way of life’—would also improve social cohesion in the union.

Finally, pro-European forces should never lose sight of the objective of building a European political union, not merely an economic one. This requires a long-term strategy to build stable majorities for a forward-looking political agenda in the EU which effectively counters populist, anti-European forces. Having faith in this process, despite setbacks, is crucial. The EU has not been built in a day, it is still ‘in the making’ and indeed it can easily and quickly be destroyed if pro-European forces do not have a strategy they believe in. Democratic patience and stamina are inner values we need to work on if we want the European project to be successful in the future.

Sophie Pornschlegel
Sophie Pornschlegel

Sophie Pornschlegel is a senior policy analyst and project leader for 'Connecting Europe' at the Brussels-based think-tank European Policy Centre. Previously she worked as a project manager at the Berlin-based think-tank Das Progressive Zentrum, where she headed the Democracy Lab.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u4219834664e04a 8a1e 4ee0 a6f9 bbc30a79d0b1 2 Closing the Chasm: Central and Eastern Europe’s Continued Minimum Wage ClimbCarlos Vacas-Soriano and Christine Aumayr-Pintar
u421983467f bb39 37d5862ca0d5 0 Ending Britain’s “Brief Encounter” with BrexitStefan Stern
u421983485 2 The Future of American Soft PowerJoseph S. Nye
u4219834676d582029 038f 486a 8c2b fe32db91c9b0 2 Trump Can’t Kill the Boom: Why the US Economy Will Roar Despite HimNouriel Roubini
u42198346fb0de2b847 0 How the Billionaire Boom Is Fueling Inequality—and Threatening DemocracyFernanda Balata and Sebastian Mang

Most Popular Articles

startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer
u421983467 2a24 4c75 9482 03c99ea44770 3 Trump’s Trade War Tears North America Apart – Could Canada and Mexico Turn to Europe?Malcolm Fairbrother
u4219834676e2a479 85e9 435a bf3f 59c90bfe6225 3 Why Good Business Leaders Tune Out the Trump Noise and Stay FocusedStefan Stern
u42198346 4ba7 b898 27a9d72779f7 1 Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political LegacyJan-Werner Müller
u4219834676574c9 df78 4d38 939b 929d7aea0c20 2 The End of Progess? The Dire Consequences of Trump’s ReturnJoseph Stiglitz

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

KU Leuven advertisement

The Politics of Unpaid Work

This new book published by Oxford University Press presents the findings of the multiannual ERC research project “Researching Precariousness Across the Paid/Unpaid Work Continuum”,
led by Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), which are very important for the prospects of a more equal Europe.

Unpaid labour is no longer limited to the home or volunteer work. It infiltrates paid jobs, eroding rights and deepening inequality. From freelancers’ extra hours to care workers’ unpaid duties, it sustains precarity and fuels inequity. This book exposes the hidden forces behind unpaid labour and calls for systemic change to confront this pressing issue.

DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641