Legitimacy in the multilevel European polity

Abstract

In order to be simultaneously effective and liberal,

Chameleon pluralism in the EU: an empirical study of the European Commission interest group density and diversity across policy domains

“…Moreover, recognizing that EU policy-making is more than a resources exchange, we note that in order for the Commission to remain a relevant political institution, and not just a quasi-regulatory agency, it needs to maintain both its output and input legitimacy (Majone 2002(Majone , 2009Scharpf 2009). Output legitimacy is associated with the quality of policy and requires technical expertise.…”

“…Therefore demand for political expertise is lower than demand for technical expertise. Distributive policy is less complex but much more politicized (Christiansen 1997;Princen and Kerremans 2008;Scharpf 2009). This increases the need for consensus and political information but overall reduces demand for technical information.…”

“…Member states' governments are either provided with expertise by interest groups largely at the national level and/or can rely on their own national agencies (ministries, bureaucracy) (Saurugger 2009). The additional formal/ informal involvement of member states in Brussels automatically increases the politicization of the policy-making process; because more national perspectives are available, the DG has greater demand for political information (Scharpf 2009). Therefore, DGs where member states are involved both informally and formally show greater demand for political expertise.…”

The French debate over the Bolkestein directive

“…Other European initiatives that might have been equally disconcerting for those afraid of further liberalization have almost gone unnoticed in France. One may think in particular of the European Court of Justice rulings in the cases Laval, Viking and Ru¨ffert, which have been likened to the Bolkestein imitative by members of the European Parliament, analysts and many trade union leaders across European countries (see Ho¨pner, 2008;Joerges and Ro¨dl, 2009;Scharpf, 2009). Despite comparable social implications, these issues have stirred almost no general political debate in France, and even less social mobilization.…”

Analyzing Malaise and Mobilization: The Effects of Media on Political Support and European Identity in Old and New Member States

“…Binding decisions taken at EU level began to have an increasing impact on the lives of citizens of the member states and a stronger eff ect on distribution matters. Th e EU has since changed from being a predominantly economic institution to one that is more political, raising questions about its legitimacy and the democratic defi cit in public and scientifi c debates (Majone 1998;Hix 2008;Scharpf 2009). Th ese debates have addressed another dimension of European identity, inquiring into whether and to what extent Europeans require a "concomitant European identity to guarantee the democratic legitimation of the institutions of EU and its decision making" (Fuchs 2011: 28).…”