The EU Woes: Decreasing Democratic Participation

This article was part of my curricular assignment submitted at Coursera's 'Understanding Europe' by HEC Paris. 

The European Union is an association of states counting 28 in number, which emerged after the Second World War, currently inhabited by 500 million citizens, speaking 24 languages and representing the largest trade block in the world. The European Parliament is the only EU institution to be directly elected by the EU citizens through universal adult suffrage. Held once in every 5 years, the Elections see 751 MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) from the 28 EU member states getting elected to represent their nation on a European level. The 2014 European Parliament Elections, held between 22- 25 May had a voter turnout of 43.09% as opposed to the opinion poll estimation, which stood at 43.11%. While some reactions consider the voter turnout figure as an achievement of European democracy, with the 2014 Elections being the first election to reverse a decreasing voter turnout trend (2009 Elections had a voter turnout of 43%). Skeptics still discount the 0.09% increase from 2009 as any indication of increased democratic participation. The irony is that even though half of the 28 member states had a voter turnout greater than the EU average of 43.09%, this should be accounted either to compulsory voting (as in Belgium and Luxembourg with turnout of 90%) or to the fact that the European elections coincided with the national elections (as in Lithuania, Greece and Germany; Lithuania’s % change in voter turnout from 2009 stood at a remarkable 24%).

It is only fitting to note that the poor voter turnout does not imply an incompetent EU. The various EU treaties mean that the European Union is continuously extending its fields of competence. As per the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, EU enjoys exclusive competence in establishing customs union, competition policies for the internal market, monetary policies for the Eurozone, common fisheries policy and common international policies. EU also shares it competence with the member states in the following fields: internal market, social policy, economic and territorial cohesion, agriculture, environment, consumer protection, transport, energy, area of freedom, security and justice, public health, research, technological development, space advancements and humanitarian aid. In other fields, where the EU role is weak, it still is able to provide supportive competence in areas like culture, tourism, education and sport.

It is also equally important to understand that more powers were vested on the European Parliament after the Lisbon Treaty. The reform made the European Parliament gain more legislative powers in fields like agriculture, energy, security, legal immigration, and public health. The new EP also has an increased say on who runs the EU and decisions regarding to budgeting along with the Council of Ministers. In addition, the new powers also meant stronger voice for the EU citizens. The Parliament is the guardian of EU citizens' catalog of civil, political, economic and social rights - the Charter of Fundamental Rights - embedded in the Lisbon Treaty, as well as their new right of citizens' initiative, which will allow people to call for new policy proposals if supported by 1 million signatures.

European Parliament Hemicycle in Strasbourg, France

European Parliament Building in Strasbourg, France

Now, to the problem to be analysed - What attributes to the declining voter participation in the Parliament elections and how to improve it?

Most national governments gain their power through political systems that bear the name "democracy" but which allow very little participation by the ordinary citizen. In fact, the actions of governments are often so secretive, that citizens are not even able to participate in knowledge of what their government is doing. Democratic Participation should eliminate this and encourage more citizens to actively participate in the decisions of the government by emphasizing on transparency, citizen rights and equality before the law. The EU as a supranational organization needs to focus on this to increase the democratic participation of its citizens.

One of the major attributes of declining voter turnout is the Eurozone crisis. The EU now has record numbers of unemployment. Countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy were the most hit. Bail out was necessary for many of the crisis hit countries. The Eurozone crisis which was an offshoot of the Global Recession of 2008-09 was met with severe austerity measures by the national governments. Reduction in spending attributed to unemployment, which caused major distrust on EU’s ability to combat crisis. The harsh fiscal policies and stringent budgeting was championed as the only route out of the crisis. This tainted the image of the Euro as a hopeless currency, with some Economists calling Euro “an experiment that failed”. Long term resolution lies in solutions like a common fiscal union and greater integration rather than austerity measures. This might increase investors trust, improve credit ratings, bring back employment and encourage more EU citizens to exercise their right to vote.

Another major attribute for reduced turnout could be increased Euroscepticism. A survey conducted in 2012, showed that only 42% of EU citizens believe that their countries’ interests are looked after in the EU. Trust in the EU was the lowest in the UK at only 16%, which could have led to the corresponding UK voter turnout of 30%. Nationalist political parties which scapegoat the EU for lapses in regulations or over- regulation have seen their popularities surge. Greater emphasis on European integration and its benefits could be advocated to bring back trust and encourage voter increase to European Parliament elections.

According to the Schuman Declaration, one of the corner stones that led to the formation of the European Union was that, war between the two big European powers – France and Germany was not merely unthinkable but materially impossible. In other words, trying to meet political end through economic means. This paradigm is necessary, but no longer sufficient. As citizens start expecting more from the EU, the changing face of the EU needs to bridge the gap between this expectation and its offering. This bridging might facilitate more voter turnout.

The Ukraine crisis has been the background setting for the 2014 Elections and the presidential elections in Kiev coincided with the European elections. Tensions and escalating crisis in Ukraine may have overshadowed the EP elections in terms of international attention.

To take a leaf out of India’s book; India went to polls, to elect 543 Members of Parliament. The turnout stood at 66.38%, the highest in Indian election history with close to 540 million people voting, in what was called the largest show of democracy in the world. This record turnout could be attributed to the following factors and which in turn can be suggestions to the European Union to increase their voter turnout: a) Election spending for campaigning, rallies, etc. which stood at $5 billion, second only to the 2012 US presidential elections, b) Using social media platform to generate awareness and targeting youth to exercise their constitutional right, c) Anti-incumbency following an 8 year economic slump, d) Literacy to the citizens on why their vote counts in a democracy and e) Eliminating beliefs about indifference and disillusionment.

What the next European election holds is with time, to show. Until then, the European Union need not be written off, just yet.