Zagadnienie "deficytu demokracji" w Unii Europejskiej. Cz. 1, Aspekty teoretyczne

Abstract

The question of the so-called democracy deficit in the European Union is one of the most interesting and complex theoretical problems and, at the same time, one of the most important challenges the European Union faces at the beginning of the 21st Century. As emphasised by many scien-tists and politicians, the process of European integration requires plant-ing, among the citizens of Member States, of firm belief they have true influence upon the process. In other words, better legitimization of the European Union’s activities is needed. The article deals with certain theoretical aspects of the issue of ”de-mocracy deficit” in the European Union. It names and discusses four sources of legitimization for the European Union: ”direct legitimization”, ”indirect legitimization”, ”utilitarian legitimization” and legitimization based upon common European principles and values. It is the author’s statement that as the European Union is a sui generis construction (with such attributes as a State, a supranational organization and an interna-tional organization), its legitimization should stem from combination of a number of sources, including the above-mentioned ones.