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establishment or phenomena and is not easy to decide Other concerns surround the legitimacy issues of non-
according to which democratic standards this majoritarian institutions. This second meaning is much
establishment should be evaluated. more relevant to a system of limited competencies such
as the economic concept of the EU. This new polity is
European Union perceived as the new stage in the evolution of the
European state. The expression of democratic deficit is
Initially the EU flourished as an economic union and used in this context to refer to legitimacy problems of
became a political union in progress in the process. The non-majoritarian institutions, meaning much more
EU has been a focal point of countless investigations as a relevant to a system of limited competencies such as the
new arising, unique model of democracy. Looking back at EU. The key issues identified under the democratic theory
the evolution of the EU from a macropolitical approach are tasks which may be legitimately delegated to
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four dynamic views have developed considering five institutions insulated from the political process and the
prospective indicators. Those indicators have been question on how to design such institutions to make
covered under the economic umbrella and are independencies and accountability complementary and
enumerated as binding outputs, scope enlargement of mutually supporting, rather than antithetical?
public policies, transfer of competencies, institutional More open to critical debate is the novel form of
growth and procedural differentiation and involvement representative government. At the moment the EU has
of intermediary groups in channels of influence. The 28 Member states and a population of approximately 500
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views emerging lead to a supranational theory that many million people . As long as the majority of voters and
critics still struggle with even in the present date. The their elected representatives oppose the idea of the
neo-functional/neo-federal assumption of linear growth, European federation while supporting far-reaching
the realist view of decline, the governance/pendulum economic integration, we cannot expect parliamentary
view of cyclical up and down and the fusion (integration) democracy to flourish in the Union. These being the
thesis view of structural growth and differentiation. The preferences of voters, we can safely assume that the
‘ever-closer’ integration process gave rise to a dynamic Europe’s democratic deficit is democratically justified .
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product of rational strategies of European welfare states The socio-psychological argument claims that the EU is
faced with growing interdependencies and spillovers, not capable of being a ‘real’ democracy in principle, since
furthered by the institutional logics of the EU bodies. The the structural and social prerequisites, on which
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main argument against the EU’s institutional design and democratic rule depends, are lacking at European level .
structure addresses concerns in regard to The EU’s representation deficit undermines mass support
democratization. On a futuristic note we can safely for the Europe’s political integration. When citizens
assume that most of the arguments against the obstacles perceive that they are unrepresented, their support for
opposed by the new democratic model are about the the EU is reduced independent of economic perceptions.
nature and ultimate goals of the integration process. This reduction is especially strong in nations with well-
Trends of merging public resources at several state levels functioning institutions. Scholarly articles focus on
led to increasing complexities, a lack of transparency and whether publics are represented by the EU, no cross-
difficulties in reversing the developments. Those who national study examines whether citizen feel represented
assume that economic integration must lead to political by the EU. Neither do prior studies examine whether such
integration tend to apply to the European institutions views affect the EU support. Mass evaluation of the EU’s
standards of legitimacy derived from the theory and democratic deficit constitutes a serious liability to the
practice of parliamentary democracies. It is safe to Europe’s political integration. A promising number of
assume that economic integration without political Europeans are still uncertain about how well the EU
integration is practically impossible if kept as separate as represents them. These citizens may be persuaded by
possible. Those who argue against it must expect that the appropriate institutional changes by increasing authority
depoliticisation of the European policy-making is the price of the EU Parliament, introducing more democratic
we pay in order to preserve national sovereignty intact. procedures. The general EU propaganda supports the

116 Wolfgang Wessels, ‘An Ever-Closer Fusion? A Dynamic Macropolitical View 118 Giandomenico Majone, ‘Europe’s Democratic Deficit: The Question of
on Integration Process’[1997] 1 Standards’ (1998)
117 https://europa.eu/european- 119 Kubra Dilek Azman, ‘The Problem of “Democratic Deficit” in the European
union/sites/europaeu/files/docs/body/eu_in_slides_en.pdf Union’, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, (2011) Vol. 1,
No. 5