4 ms·

I wish it was so simple, there are a bunch of different bodies; only the parlement is directly voted in. Especially the EU commmision the most powerful part are

I wish it was so simple, there are a bunch of different bodies; only the parlement is directly voted in. Especially the EU commmision the most powerful part are picked by the 27 leaders. Consequence is lot of deal making and influence by main countries France & Germany; and no direct responsiblity to citizens. It's not all bad, but also not all great.

hef19898 3y ago
And those 27 leaders come into power how? Winning the lottery or finding a coucher in their breakfast cereals?
- mrtksn 3y ago
  They are the heads of state of each country. Elected directly, no lottery involved.
  - AlecSchueler 3y ago
    Heads of the governments, not the heads of state.
    - mrtksn 3y ago
      right
- nosajio 3y ago
  The EU holds elections in each country which barely anybody knows about. They're not heads of state. Members of EU parliament are called MEPs, and are totally separate from heads of state elected in national elections.
  - hef19898 3y ago
    Well, sarcasm works only so-so on the internet. And that people dont vote during EU elections, which are heavily advertized at least in Germany, is hardly the EUs fault.
mrtksn 3y ago
The EU commissioners are the appointed ones by the EU parliament(elected directly by the citizens) and the 27 leaders(head of state of each country, directly elected) elect the EU president. The direct responsibility to the citizens concerns the elected ones. The commission is powerful but their power is restrained by the elected ones and the elected ones can replace the appointed ones if they are not happy with it. Anyway, direct democracy exists only in few places, like in Switzerland. EU and most of the democratic world runs on representative democracies, that is you elect people who you trust that will work the best for your interests and send them in a fancy building to vote on stuff and hoping for the best.
- junofan 3y ago
  > you elect people who you trust that will work the best for your interests The EU explicitly works for collective interest, not individual interest.
  - mrtksn 3y ago
    I find it useless to dive into a discussion on whose interests are the collective interests. Let's hope that we will get rid of those who's interests are not aligned with the collective interests.
- raxxorraxor 3y ago
  How much the EU has a democratic deficit is a personal question for each constituent. In my case its democracy is very far removed from accountability and representation, so I believe the deficits are quite pronounced. It is not really honest to say you can put layers upon layers of indirect representation and the democratic process would not suffer. Legitimacy is lost on the way.
somewhereoutth 3y ago
The Commission is decidedly not the most powerful part! It is simply the secretariat for the EU, what in the UK is called the Civil Service. It is involved with policy formulation and implementation sure, but only at the behest of the other bodies. The most powerful part is the Council, where each member government is represented and is the mechanism by which member states pool their sovereignty. Nothing happens without the (often required to be unanimous) agreement of the Council. Recent case in point: an EU Commissioner stated that aid to Gaza would be cut in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks - this was quickly backtracked when a member state objected.

hef19898 3y ago

And those 27 leaders come into power how? Winning the lottery or finding a coucher in their breakfast cereals?

mrtksn 3y ago
They are the heads of state of each country. Elected directly, no lottery involved.
- AlecSchueler 3y ago
  Heads of the governments, not the heads of state.
  - mrtksn 3y ago
    right
nosajio 3y ago
The EU holds elections in each country which barely anybody knows about. They're not heads of state. Members of EU parliament are called MEPs, and are totally separate from heads of state elected in national elections.
- hef19898 3y ago
  Well, sarcasm works only so-so on the internet. And that people dont vote during EU elections, which are heavily advertized at least in Germany, is hardly the EUs fault.

mrtksn 3y ago

The EU commissioners are the appointed ones by the EU parliament(elected directly by the citizens) and the 27 leaders(head of state of each country, directly elected) elect the EU president. The direct responsibility to the citizens concerns the elected ones. The commission is powerful but their power is restrained by the elected ones and the elected ones can replace the appointed ones if they are not happy with it. Anyway, direct democracy exists only in few places, like in Switzerland. EU and most of the democratic world runs on representative democracies, that is you elect people who you trust that will work the best for your interests and send them in a fancy building to vote on stuff and hoping for the best.

junofan 3y ago
> you elect people who you trust that will work the best for your interests The EU explicitly works for collective interest, not individual interest.
- mrtksn 3y ago
  I find it useless to dive into a discussion on whose interests are the collective interests. Let's hope that we will get rid of those who's interests are not aligned with the collective interests.
raxxorraxor 3y ago
How much the EU has a democratic deficit is a personal question for each constituent. In my case its democracy is very far removed from accountability and representation, so I believe the deficits are quite pronounced. It is not really honest to say you can put layers upon layers of indirect representation and the democratic process would not suffer. Legitimacy is lost on the way.

somewhereoutth 3y ago

The Commission is decidedly not the most powerful part! It is simply the secretariat for the EU, what in the UK is called the Civil Service. It is involved with policy formulation and implementation sure, but only at the behest of the other bodies. The most powerful part is the Council, where each member government is represented and is the mechanism by which member states pool their sovereignty. Nothing happens without the (often required to be unanimous) agreement of the Council. Recent case in point: an EU Commissioner stated that aid to Gaza would be cut in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks - this was quickly backtracked when a member state objected.