EU parliament has 'surplus' of democracy

"This time is different," is to be the slogan of the information 
campaign ahead of next year's EU elections 
(Photo: European Parliament/Pietro Naj-Oleari)




BRUSSELS 
- The European Parliament should make more of its "democratic surplus," its leading official has said in an attempt to counter the prevailing narrative that the EU assembly is not equal to national parliaments.

Klaus Welle, secretary general of the parliament, said that talk of a "democratic deficit immediately gives the impression that somehow we are lagging behind national parliaments and that somehow we have to catch up."

"[But] democracy in Europe also has elements which are further developed," he told an audience at the Centre for European Policy Studies last week (26 June).

One of the "elements of democratic surplus" is MEPs having more leeway to vote as they see fit as party discipline at the EU level is "much lower."

National parliamentarians meanwhile are "very often limited by their own executive" because if the government loses a majority then it has to resign and "that's the end of the story."...[...]

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