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Bei der Wahl zum Europäischen Parlament am 25. Mai 2014 treten die Parteien zum ersten Mal mit Spitzenkandidaten an, die - vorausgesetzt ihre Parteien erhalten eine Mehrheit vom Europäischen Rat - als Kommissionspräsidenten vorgeschlagen werden sollen. Diese Neuerung, die auf den Lissabon-Vertrag zurückgeht, soll die Legitimität der europäischen Institutionen verbessern und zugleich die EU-Bürger zu zahlreicher Stimmabgabe motivieren. Ob dies wirklich gelingen kann und welche unterschiedlichen Wege beschritten werden können, diskutieren die Autoren dieses Zeitgesprächs. ; The EU suffers from a democratic deficit that arises not first and foremost from a lack of institutional competencies, but rather from the double weakness of politics vis-à-vis economics and law at the European level. This functional democratic deficit renders the existing mechanisms of democratic control increasingly ineffective. Especially for its citizens, a politically integrated Europen Union might be difficult to grasp, and it may only be reached gradually through a continuous process of dynamic development; however, United in Diversity seems to be the better alternative, and not only for historical reasons. The direct elections for the European Parliament, although not denying deficits of democratic legitimacy and participation at the Union level, should not be underestimated in their legitimising influence for the Union as an associated structure of members without obvious hierarchies.

Is the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU (CSDP) suffering from a democratic deficit? This normative discussion is approached through an exemplary analysis of the German, British and European Parliament as well as a categorization of the EU-27 that aims to provide a comprehensive answer to this central question. A single generally accepted model of parliamentary control of European security and defence policy does not exist. General conclusions about a democratic deficit of the CSDP are based on a counterfactual legitimacy model of parliamentary control, which falls short of taking into account the variety of historically grown perceptions and traditions of security and defence policy in the 27 Member States. Therefore, the democratic legitimacy of CSDP remains sufficiently guaranteed as long as the existing national procedures for parliamentary control are fully complied with. Adapted from the source document.

In recent years, the thesis has been presented that, given output-oriented legitimacy, the European Union does not exhibit a democratic deficit. Rather, tasks & competencies are shifted to the supranational level in order to enhance the ability of the political system to solve problems. Institutions that are not directly democratically legitimated allow for Pareto improvements, where this is otherwise neither achieved by the market nor in negotiation processes. This article criticizes this thesis & demonstrates that the democratic deficit of the EU lies in the de-politicization of politics. The delegation of decisions is only unproblematic when the point of departure can be recognized as fair, actors have no interest in relative gain, the reach of delegated decisions is able to be contained & decisions in cases of shifts in the majority remain reversible. In the EU these conditions are frequently not met. Where decisions are controversial, procedures must be found that ensure an appropriate representation of diverse interests. Adapted from the source document.

In the globalized world of today the liberal-democratic nation state, federal & unitary alike, is faced with several challenges. For one, democratic governance has to cope with accommodating "old" multinational identities & / or "new" multicultural interests & claims. The nation states' embeddedness into systems of multi-level governance yields a reshuffling of policy competences, renders transparency problems & aggravates democratic deficits -- first & foremost in the European Union. The Canadian experience is a valuable starting point in deriving answers to the question what type of federalism is likely to provide viable solutions to democratic governance in the context of the post-national constellation. Figures.

Based on data of Eurobarometer Surveys the relationship between collective identity & perceptions of democracy in the EU is analyzed. The democratic deficit, defined as low competences of the only direct legitimized institution in the EU, only raises moderate critique by the citizens. Yet, they are dissatisfied with their own influence on EU-politics, which is nearly independent of the identification with the nation &/or the EU. Tables, References. Adapted from the source document.

'Mit der Entwicklung der Europäischen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik (ESVP) hat die EU den Anspruch verbunden, gewaltsame Krisen und deren Folgen auf ganzheitliche Weise zu bewältigen. Der Verfasser der vorliegenden Studie geht der Frage nach, inwiefern es der Europäischen Union gelungen ist, die zivilen und militärischen Instrumente im Zusammenhang mit ESVP-Missionen kohärent und effektiv zum Einsatz zu bringen. Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei die Erfahrungen in Bosnien-Herzegowina und der Demokratischen Republik Kongo. Die Analyse verdeutlicht, dass die Union weiterhin große Schwierigkeiten hat, ihrem Anspruch gerecht zu werden, als zivil-militärischer Akteur zu handeln. Dabei treten zwei zentrale Problembereiche zutage. Erstens ist die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Polizei und Militär im Krisenmanagement und beim Aufbau des Sicherheitssektors in Nachkriegssituationen eine große Herausforderung. Zweitens kann das EU-Handeln nicht langfristig wirken, solange Rat und Europäische Kommission bei militärischen ESVP-Mandaten und -Aufgaben nur kurzfristig oder gar nicht kooperieren. Mit einer mutigen Umsetzung der im Lissabonner Vertrag angelegten Reformen lassen sich die festgestellten Defizite teilweise abbauen. Dennoch sind die Probleme in ihrem Kern politischer und nicht institutioneller Natur. Soll etwa der Sicherheitssektor in Nachkriegsgesellschaften gemäß dem ganzheitlichen Ansatz aufgebaut werden, müssen die EU und ihre Mitgliedstaaten den politischen Willen aufbringen, die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Rat und Kommission auch bei den militärischen Aspekten der ESVP-Einsätze auf eine dauerhaftere Grundlage zu stellen.' (Autorenreferat)