The Legitimacy of the European Union After Enlargement

In 2004 the European Union was enlarged with ten new member states, eight of them previously communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. This enlargement was without precedent in the history of the Union and its predecessors. It is still to be seen how well the institutions as well as the citizens of the Union are able to cope with the consequences of this operation. The authors of this volume evaluate the effect of that enlargement on its legitimacy. They do so by assessing the effects of enlargement on the functioning of the process of political representation in the European Union and on the feelings of the European people towards the Union. This study is mainly based on data from the European Election Study 2004. This study made it for the first time possible to compare the attitudes and behavior of citizens in the enlargement countries, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe, with their counterparts in the older member states. Some of the findings of this study are counterintuitive. In many respects the effects of enlargements are much smaller than often argued. The party systems of the new member states and the attitudes and behavior of the voters of individual parties are very compatible with their counterparts in the older member states, making further European integration relatively easy. The same can be said about members of the European Parliament. On the other hand the mutual trust of the people in the older and new member states is extremely low and undermines the legitimacy of the enlarged Union. Contents 6 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 Preface 14 Contributors 16 Abbreviations 21 1. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement 22 1.1. Introduction 22 1.2. The legitimacy of the European Union: A Union of, by, and for the people? 25 1.3. Political representation in the European Union 30 1.4. The legitimacy of the European Union: The support of the people 38 1.5. The European Election Studies project 40 Part I: Political Representation in the European Union 42 2. The European Party System after Enlargement 44 2.1. Introduction 44 2.2. The development of the EU party system 46 2.3. The party systems of Central and Eastern Europe: Do they fit in? 48 2.4. Dimensions of party competition in the European Union before enlargement 50 2.5. Dimensions of party competition in the European Union after enlargement 54 2.6. The competitiveness and cohesion of the European party system after enlargement 56 2.7. Conclusion 60 Appendix 63 3. Light at the End of the Tunnel: Towards a European Public Sphere? 65 3.1. Introduction 65 3.2. A European public sphere? 66 3.3. European elections: The emergence of Europeanized national public spheres? 71 3.4. Data: The 2004 European election media study 74 3.5. Results 75 3.6. Conclusions 83 4. Towards a European Electorate: One Electorate or Many? 86 4.1. Introduction 86 4.2. Theoretical expectations 87 4.3. Differences in value orientations 90 4.4. Determinants of party choice 99 4.5. Conclusion: One electorate or many? 107 Appendix 110 5. Enlargement and the ‘Normal’ European Parliament 114 5.1. Introduction 114 5.2. The effects of enlargement on politics in the European Parliament 116 5.3. Partisan and national divisions in the European Parliament 120 5.4. Ideological structures 124 5.5. Conclusion 131 Appendix 133 Part II: Political Support for the European Union 136 6. The Level of Decision Making: The Preferences of the Citizens after Enlargement 138 6.1. Introduction 138 6.2. The debate on the level of decision making in the EU 139 6.3. Citizens’ level of governance preferences over time, policy sector, and space 143 6.4. Hypotheses on citizens’ preferences for level of government 152 6.5. The level of decision making: Explaining the preferences of citizens 156 6.6. Conclusion 158 7. Policy Performance and Support for European Integration 163 7.1. Introduction 163 7.2. Previous research 164 7.3. Public perceptions of benefits 167 7.4. Explaining diversity and change 174 7.5. Analysis 175 7.6. Conclusions 179 Appendix 1 182 Appendix 2 183 8. Trust in Political Institutions 186 8.1. Introduction 186 8.2. Trust in institutions: Concept, hypotheses, and prior research findings 188 8.3. The development of trust in national and European political institutions 190 8.4. Trust in national and European political institutions after Eastern enlargement 196 8.5. Discussion 203 9. European Citizenship and Identity after Enlargement 205 9.1. Introduction 205 9.2. European identity and European citizenship 206 9.3. Conceptualizations, operationalizations, and methods 208 9.4. An empirical analysis of citizenship and trust 212 9.5. In conclusion 224 10. Legitimacy and Electoral Abstention in European Parliament Elections 229 10.1. Introduction 229 10.2. Previous research 230 10.3. Abstentions and orientations to the EU: A first look 234 10.4. EU legitimacy beliefs amidst other factors 237 10.5. If not legitimacy beliefs, what then causes low turnout in EP elections? 240 10.6. Conclusions and reflections 241 11. In Conclusion: The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement 246 11.1. Introduction 246 11.2. The European Union and representative democracy 247 11.3. The legitimacy of the European Union: The support of the people 250 11.4. The effects of enlargement on the legitimacy of the European Union 253 11.5. The quality of political representation in the European Union 255 11.6. Party government as a cure for the democratic deficit of the EU? 257 11.7. In conclusion 262 References 266 Index 284 A 284 B 284 C 284 D 284 E 285 F 285 G 285 H 285 I 285 J 285 K 285 L 286 M 286 N 286 O 286 P 286 R 287 S 287 T 287 U 287 V 287 W 287 Z 288 Contents......Page 6 List of Figures......Page 10 List of Tables......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 Contributors......Page 16 Abbreviations......Page 21 1.1. Introduction......Page 22 1.2. The legitimacy of the European Union: A Union of, by, and for the people?......Page 25 1.3. Political representation in the European Union......Page 30 1.4. The legitimacy of the European Union: The support of the people......Page 38 1.5. The European Election Studies project......Page 40 Part I: Political Representation in the European Union......Page 42 2.1. Introduction......Page 44 2.2. The development of the EU party system......Page 46 2.3. The party systems of Central and Eastern Europe: Do they fit in?......Page 48 2.4. Dimensions of party competition in the European Union before enlargement......Page 50 2.5. Dimensions of party competition in the European Union after enlargement......Page 54 2.6. The competitiveness and cohesion of the European party system after enlargement......Page 56 2.7. Conclusion......Page 60 Appendix......Page 63 3.1. Introduction......Page 65 3.2. A European public sphere?......Page 66 3.3. European elections: The emergence of Europeanized national public spheres?......Page 71 3.4. Data: The 2004 European election media study......Page 74 3.5. Results......Page 75 3.6. Conclusions......Page 83 4.1. Introduction......Page 86 4.2. Theoretical expectations......Page 87 4.3. Differences in value orientations......Page 90 4.4. Determinants of party choice......Page 99 4.5. Conclusion: One electorate or many?......Page 107 Appendix......Page 110 5.1. Introduction......Page 114 5.2. The effects of enlargement on politics in the European Parliament......Page 116 5.3. Partisan and national divisions in the European Parliament......Page 120 5.4. Ideological structures......Page 124 5.5. Conclusion......Page 131 Appendix......Page 133 Part II: Political Support for the European Union......Page 136 6.1. Introduction......Page 138 6.2. The debate on the level of decision making in the EU......Page 139 6.3. Citizens’ level of governance preferences over time, policy sector, and space......Page 143 6.4. Hypotheses on citizens’ preferences for level of government......Page 152 6.5. The level of decision making: Explaining the preferences of citizens......Page 156 6.6. Conclusion......Page 158 7.1. Introduction......Page 163 7.2. Previous research......Page 164 7.3. Public perceptions of benefits......Page 167 7.4. Explaining diversity and change......Page 174 7.5. Analysis......Page 175 7.6. Conclusions......Page 179 Appendix 1......Page 182 Appendix 2......Page 183 8.1. Introduction......Page 186 8.2. Trust in institutions: Concept, hypotheses, and prior research findings......Page 188 8.3. The development of trust in national and European political institutions......Page 190 8.4. Trust in national and European political institutions after Eastern enlargement......Page 196 8.5. Discussion......Page 203 9.1. Introduction......Page 205 9.2. European identity and European citizenship......Page 206 9.3. Conceptualizations, operationalizations, and methods......Page 208 9.4. An empirical analysis of citizenship and trust......Page 212 9.5. In conclusion......Page 224 10.1. Introduction......Page 229 10.2. Previous research......Page 230 10.3. Abstentions and orientations to the EU: A first look......Page 234 10.4. EU legitimacy beliefs amidst other factors......Page 237 10.5. If not legitimacy beliefs, what then causes low turnout in EP elections?......Page 240 10.6. Conclusions and reflections......Page 241 11.1. Introduction......Page 246 11.2. The European Union and representative democracy......Page 247 11.3. The legitimacy of the European Union: The support of the people......Page 250 11.4. The effects of enlargement on the legitimacy of the European Union......Page 253 11.5. The quality of political representation in the European Union......Page 255 11.6. Party government as a cure for the democratic deficit of the EU?......Page 257 11.7. In conclusion......Page 262 References......Page 266 D......Page 284 K......Page 285 P......Page 286 W......Page 287 Z......Page 288 In 2004 the European Union was enlarged with ten new member states, eight of them previously communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. This enlargement was without precedent in the history of the Union and its predecessors. It is still to be seen how well the institutions as well as the citizens of the Union are able to cope with the consequences of this operation. The authors of this volume evaluate the effect of that enlargement on its legitimacy. They do so by assessing the effects of enlargement on the functioning of the process of political representation in the European Union and on the feelings of the European people towards the Union. This study is mainly based on data from the European Election Study 2004. This study made it for the first time possible to compare the attitudes and behaviour of citizens in the enlargement countries, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe, with their counterparts in the older member states. Some of the findings of this study are counterintuitive. In many respects the effects of enlargements are much smaller than often argued. The party systems of the new member states and the attitudes and behaviour of the voters of individual parties are very compatible with their counterparts in the older member states, making further European integration relatively easy. The same can be said about members of the European Parliament. On the other hand the mutual trust of the people in the older and new member states is extremely low and undermines the legitimacy of the enlarged Union. The enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 states was a major and unprecedented event in its history. This groundbreaking study examines the effect of this enlargement on the much tested legitimacy of the EU