Democracy in the European Union today: Parliaments, Processes and Perceptions

Does the EU suffer from a democratic deficit or is this a problem constructed by the member states? This international seminar will shed light on democracy in the EU from three different angles: national parliaments (Thomas Christiansen, Maastricht University), Brussels’ decision procedures (Renaud Dehousse, Science Po Paris), and the perception of the EU by European citizens (Marlene Wind, Copenhagen University). The three distinguished scholars will represent their latest research in this area of reoccurring public concern. Susana Borrás, head of the Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence at CBS, will engage the scholars in an interactive discussion of their findings.

Thomas Christiansen (Maastricht University) studied at Hamburg University, the London School of Economics and the European University Institute in Florence and holds a PhD in Political Science from Maastricht University. He is Jean Monnet Professor of European Institutional Politics at Maastricht University, Executive Editor of the Journal of European Integration and co-editor of a new book series on European Administrative Governance published by Palgrave. He also acts as the Academic Coordinator of OPAL - the Observatory of Parliaments after the Lisbon Treaty. His research focus is on EU institutions, on national parliaments in the EU and on relations between the EU and Asia. 

 Renaud Dehousse (Science Po Paris) is Professor at science Po where he holds a Jean Monnet Chair in European Union Law and Political Science and directs the Centre d'études européennes. Prior to joining Sciences Po in 1999, he was – among other positions – Professor at the University of Pisa and at the European University Institute in Florence, where he led the Academy of European Law. His current research focus is on institutions and political systems of the European Union.

 Marlene Wind (Copenhagen University) is professor at the Department of Political Sciences at Copenhagen University and the leader of the Head of the Centre for European Politics. Her research is centered on changes in institutions within the EU, treaties etc, as well as on the role of the European Court of Justice, the process of European integration, the free movement of labor, the European internal market and the question regarding the legitimacy of the EU.