N°9 – Democracy: Taking the Next Turn

The upcoming European elections are being awaited in Brussels with very mixed emotions. On one […]

Other Publication

09/10/2014

The upcoming European elections are being awaited in Brussels with very mixed emotions. On one hand, there is a fear that the current ways of dealing with the impacts of the global crisis has made the European Union appear in the public opinion as synonymous to a technocratic tool for management of austerity measures. Imposed by a conservative majority, these policies further deteriorate not only the values on which the integration process was built, such as solidarity, but also destroys the confidence that a united Europe can ever again deliver on the pledges of peace, prosperity and progress – for which it was established. On the other hand, there is hope that the elections of 2014 will be seen by voters as a pan-European referendum. Foremost the progressives anticipate, that it could be a turning point in which citizens from across the continent would reiterate, that despite the current developments, they still believe in the European project and demand a profound change of its direction – shifting to policies leading to a real Social Europe.

The hope is furthermore anchored in certain phenomena that have recently been observed on both the European and national levels. First of all, the issue of “Europe” has recently entered more in the political discourses of national campaigns, for example, this year during the elections in France and the Netherlands. The fact that the EU and its decisions affect everyday lives of all and are in fact not at all foreign, but are considered more and more as domestic issues. This will most likely transform the European elections from what is now a “2nd order vote” – and hence will require a different approach from the political families. It is not an unaware citizen that they need to educate to be able to vote – it is an ambivalent disenchanted citizen that they need to convince to attract to cast the vote. The Lisbon Treaty and its provisions offer a number of possibilities to do so, if only European political families prove themselves keen to further politicise the question of Europe’s future and enter into a new framework of transnational intra-partisan competition.

Secondly, the ongoing discussion on the institutional architecture of the European Union has highlighted certain dilemmas. Next to traditional criticism on insufficient democratic legitimacy and inadequate fulfilment of the principle of democratic representation by different EU institutions, there are new issues approaching. Among this comes about the question of who is leading the EU project, which is being more and more claimed by singular larger states operating through in an intergovernmental way. Derivative from that is a matter of enhanced cooperation, which gives a space for deliberation on creating eventually new institutions for euro-zone only. Such an approach would not only induce further multi-speeding in Europe, but potentially will fragment the historical integration based on the backbone of economic governance.

This Queries volume looks at the above mentioned questions with an ambition to provide stronger rooting to the progressive families’ hopes towards 2014. The angle taken is one that builds on the research of European democracy, bringing the debate to a new level. Such terms as: governance, legitimacy and deliberative process shall gain adequately modern understanding, and hence the title of the issue. It is composed of 4 Chapters and made of 12 articles, which were written by European, American and Asian authors – and all make a pledge for the progressives to break the fatalistic political determinism and use 2014 in order to offer a feasible, distinctive political alternative.

Ania SKRZYPEK, FEPS Senior Research Fellow – Managing Editor of “Queries”

Find all related publications
Publications
20/05/2025

Demonetisation of anti-democratic and extreme content

The proposed European Democracy Shield (EUDS) aims to fortify the EU’s democratic systems against disinformation, […]
29/01/2025

Progressive Yearbook 2025

2024 was announced as a ‘super election’ year. In fact, about half of the world’s […]
11/12/2024

From posts to polls

Understanding youth engagement in the 2024 European elections
17/09/2024

Voices of Hungarian youth

An analysis of two decades of opinion trends (2000-2020)
Find all related Progressive Post
Progressive Post
13/06/2025

Trump vs Harvard: strike one to educate one hundred

The conflict between Harvard University and the Trump administration has become the latest battle in […]
28/05/2025

A suffocating embrace?

Religion and nationalism in Hungary
27/05/2025

Far-right approaches to education in Europe

Education is not inherently liberal or equal – it is political. Far-right parties across Europe […]
Find all related events
Events
Past
23 - 25/06/2025
Brussels, Belgium (Training)

European Political Academy 2025

The Europapolitische Akademie 2025, a joint project by FEPS and the Karl-Renner-Institut (KRI), reaches its […]
20/05/2025
Brussels, Belgium (Expert meeting)

Demonetising disinformation

Roundtable on the European democracy shield
03/06/2025
FEPS HQ (Expert meeting)

Towards a progressive initiative for intergenerational solidarity in Europe 

Recently, intergenerational solidarity has reemerged as a pressing concern on the EU’s agenda. Parallel to […]
Find all related news
News
10/02/2025

FEPS joins BlueSky – follow our new account! 

When misinformation and disinformation run rampant, we resist attempts to bully users off certain platforms. […]
18/03/2024

FEPS President on Euronews talk-show ‘Brussels, my love?’

NATO extension, Portuguese elections, far-right and gender equality were the topics of the debate
04/03/2024

FEPS at the PES Election Congress in Rome

A FEPS delegation travelled to Rome last week to participate in the Election Congress of […]
24/01/2024

Spanish Minister Teresa Ribera awarded FEPS ‘Progressive Person of the Year’

FEPS Progressive Person of the Year 2023-2024
Find all related in the media
In the media

En Europe, les partis sociaux-démocrates se sont contentés d’une approche technocratique

by Le Point 04/07/2025
“In Europe, social democratic parties have relied too heavily on a technocratic approach” Interview with FEPS Secretary General László Andor in Le Point (FR), reflecting on the decline of social democracy in Europe and the need to renew its political vision in the face of nationalist challenges.

Nem jó, hogy Magyarországon a szélsőjobb és a jobboldal versenyez

by Hírklikk 12/05/2025
“It's not good that the far-right and the right are competing in Hungary” Interview with FEPS Secretary General László Andor on KlikkTV (HU), featured in Hírklikk, discussing the rise of the far right in Hungary and the need for stronger progressive alternatives.

Why Young Voters Are Ignoring Mainstream Politics

by Social Europe 01/04/2025
Read this Social Europe article, co-authored by FEPS Policy Analyst on Democracy Matteo Dressler, exploring why political parties struggle to engage young voters — and why a new strategy is needed.

Falsely historic European elections bring little change, says FEPS

by Agence Europe 18/06/2024
Agence Europe's article features an analysis of the EU election results by Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Director for Research and Training, published in The Progressive Post.