The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 elections

The European Parliament is considered a solution to the democratic deficit because the citizens of the EU directly elect it. This article aims to examine the validity of this claim. Concerning representativeness, the focus is on the homogeneity of rules and procedures used for electing the members...

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Main Author: Roberto Baccarini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2024-05-01
Series:QOE-IJES
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Online Access:https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/qoe/article/view/15524
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author Roberto Baccarini
author_facet Roberto Baccarini
author_sort Roberto Baccarini
collection DOAJ
description The European Parliament is considered a solution to the democratic deficit because the citizens of the EU directly elect it. This article aims to examine the validity of this claim. Concerning representativeness, the focus is on the homogeneity of rules and procedures used for electing the members of the European Parliament (MEPs). This homogeneity is considered as necessary for the EP to represent the EU citizens. Thus, it aims to assess the impact of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on the level of homogeneity of the rules used to conduct the 2019 European Parliament elections. This work claims that the European Parliament's role as representative of European Citizens is weakened by the consistent level of heterogeneity characterising the electoral rules used to elect it and that the withdrawal of the UK and the partial redistribution of seats simultaneously increased and decreased the level of homogeneity of the rules used to elect the MEPs.
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spelling doaj-art-bee0d76623ed4633a51dfa47e0b2c6d12025-08-20T02:40:59ZengFirenze University PressQOE-IJES0392-67532724-46792024-05-0110.36253/qoe-15524The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 electionsRoberto Baccarini0University of Exeter The European Parliament is considered a solution to the democratic deficit because the citizens of the EU directly elect it. This article aims to examine the validity of this claim. Concerning representativeness, the focus is on the homogeneity of rules and procedures used for electing the members of the European Parliament (MEPs). This homogeneity is considered as necessary for the EP to represent the EU citizens. Thus, it aims to assess the impact of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on the level of homogeneity of the rules used to conduct the 2019 European Parliament elections. This work claims that the European Parliament's role as representative of European Citizens is weakened by the consistent level of heterogeneity characterising the electoral rules used to elect it and that the withdrawal of the UK and the partial redistribution of seats simultaneously increased and decreased the level of homogeneity of the rules used to elect the MEPs. https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/qoe/article/view/15524European ElectionsElectoral SystemsRepresentationBrexit
spellingShingle Roberto Baccarini
The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 elections
QOE-IJES
European Elections
Electoral Systems
Representation
Brexit
title The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 elections
title_full The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 elections
title_fullStr The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 elections
title_full_unstemmed The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 elections
title_short The European Parliament as the voice of the European citizens? Examining the European Parliament’s role as a representative of the European citizens in the 2019 elections
title_sort european parliament as the voice of the european citizens examining the european parliament s role as a representative of the european citizens in the 2019 elections
topic European Elections
Electoral Systems
Representation
Brexit
url https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/qoe/article/view/15524
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