Democratic legitimacy of the European Union

[3][4] Some scholars argue that the EU does not suffer from a democratic deficit as it is more constrained by its plural structure of checks and balances than any national polity.

[6] According to Majone, non-accountable institutions, such as the European Commission or the Court of Justice, are insulated from democratic contestation to achieve greater efficiency and protect minority rights.

The phrase "democratic deficit" is cited as having first been used in 1977 by the Young European Federalists in their Manifesto,[9] which was drafted by Richard Corbett.

[4] A 2014 report from the British Electoral Reform Society wrote that "[t]his unique institutional structure makes it difficult to apply the usual democratic standards without significant changes of emphasis.

"[15] One assertion of democratic illegitimacy focuses on the role of the European Commission as a non elected institution being the only entity (with some few exceptions) initiating legislation.

When the results of the investigation were published, the Santer Commission resigned, forestalling a second censure motion that was expected to pass with a large majority.

The fear is that a "semi-elected" Commission president might be "too partisan to retain the trust of national leaders; too powerless to win the loyalty of citizens".

They concluded that "this does not suggest that the majority of German voters are treating the contest as a chance to choose a Commission President."

[16] In 2003, Liberal Democrat (ALDE) MEP Chris Davies said he had far more influence as a member of the European Parliament than he did as an opposition MP in the House of Commons.

[36] Legal commentators such as Schmidt and Follesdal argue that the European Union lacks politics that individual citizens understand.

Others such as Pat Cox have opined "Turnout across Europe (1999) was higher than in the last US presidential election, and I don't hear people questioning the legitimacy of the presidency of the United States".

This means that, for the vast majority of EU legislation, the corresponding national government has usually voted in favour in the Council.

[8] The European Union describes its values as being 'Human Dignity, Freedom, Democracy, Equality, Rule of Law, and Human Rights'.

In its decision to reject Turkey's petition to join the Union, the claim that the nation is 'eroding democracy' was a contributing factor.