AboutPierre-Alexandre De Bavay M.A. Expertise I can answer any question dealing with the European Union at large and various European states as well. I will try to respond to all questions even if they do not exactly deal with my specialization.
Experience I worked for the Center for American Studies in Brussels and for the European Institute for International Relations as political analyst.
Education/Credentials BA Political Science MA International Relations MA American Studies
Question I am not European, and not well informed about the EU. I understand there is the EU court of human rights, which includes countries such as russia who are ot part of the EU.
I understand there is the EU commission, which is somewhat like a parliament. Then there is the EU commission, which actually has some more power.
Now, I don't understand everything, but it seems that the EU is not at all a democracy. The member states may be, but the people of europe do not get to directly elect the people who make decisions influencing them. It is not a representative democracy, but a representative representative representative democracy. It does not seem to be similar to the states and federal government model, where states have control over everything the federal government does not have explicit control over, such as money.
Something similar to this would seem to make sense on some level. At the moment however, if the EU makes a ruling, every country has to implement it, even if they do not want to. Such as with sweden having to implement a law they oppose, the three strikes law. Now, with the Lisbon treaty, things are being more unified, and the EU will have a president, that is not elected by the people.
So, I ask, how much control and influence does the EU 'government' have over its member states, and how close is it to being a nation?
Answer Hi Josh,
Well you already seem quite well informed about the EU. Your question is quite complex but I will try to give some feedback and info. Firstly, the EU commission is not a parliament or an assembly, it might be considred like an administration (75% of the people working for the EU are working there). The EU assembly is the parliament, which is composed of various european figures directly elected by the populations of the EU members states.
You are right to say that democracy is a real issue for the EU institutions: they seem far away from people, take decisions sometimes in opposition to some nationals interests, etc. But at the same time, the EU has its own parliament with directly elected membres as I said. The problem of the EU is that it represents a compromise between the "federalists" that want the institutions to look like a real state, and the "intergovernmentalists" would only which to share some political or economic aspects. The complexity and democratic deficit both come from this problem.
I'm afraid your question involves too much research and time for me. All I can tell you is that the EU imposes policies to states, but at the same time states are the ones who created the european institutions. The policies are just a result of constant negotiation and/or consensus. To answer your second question, I would say that a nation differs a lot from a state. A nation does not only mean political institutions or judicial order, but also traditions, language, cultural aspects, etc. The EU is just a consortium of different nations.
