The democratic sustainability of the European project

We need to establish the practice of sustainable democracy by improving democratic awareness, active citizenship, common European identity, and strong and reliable institutions

Democracy deficit has always been seen a founding problem of the European Union (EU). Even with the numerous amendments since the Treaty of Rome, European democracy remains fragile. The COVID-19 crisis has shown that governments prioritize national interest to common EU values. Thus, we need to establish the practice of sustainable democracy by improving democratic awareness, active citizenship, common European identity, and strong and reliable institutions.

Education

In this context, European citizens should be aware of democratic mechanisms to contribute to the European project. The responsibility should rely on schools to prepare the next generation for active participation in the European democracy. One of the solutions could be the extension of the competencies of the EU on education. Experts from all Member States could develop a curriculum for a new subject taught in schools across the EU. The subject should cover the functioning of the EU and its democratic principles and address common European history with focus on contemporary history and its consequences such as racism or authoritarian beliefs.

Cybersecurity

At the same time, the focus has to be balanced with the continuous awareness of current threats. The COVID-19 crisis caused a detrimental technological change: now more than ever we rely on technology and secure cyberspace. Cyber attacks are seriously challenging state sovereignty and fueling the global competition between liberal democracies and authoritarian systems: for example, China and Russia are striving for state control over cyberspace. In addition to the spread of dis- and misinformation, the dominance of American technology companies threatens EU personal data protection. In such an environment, the EU Cybersecurity Act has to be upgraded to safeguard the EU´s digi­tal sovereignty, regional strategic interdependence and global competitiveness. The first step is to enhance the EU cyber foreign policy by means of political integration, structural openness, and global connectivity.

Migration

Another ubiquitous issue necessary to address is migration to Europe which, accompanies the emergence of new challenges that we need to tackle. Discrimination and intolerance, poverty, inequality, and threats to the rule of law are on the rise. The EU underestimated the migration crisis at the beginning of 2009 considering that it failed to explain it to its citizens and communicate the solutions. Consequently, there are a lot of prejudices contrary to the EU`s widely-shared principles of equality. To preserve a democratic EU we need to implement a new approach of effective assistance and communication between residents and migrants; we need to reform migrants’ policies to change our mindset and maintain the security, stability, and prosperity for the entire Union.

Institutional reform

To cope with the aforementioned threats in the future, institutional reform is crucial to create the link between the EU and its citizens. Although scholars and EU specialists have been calling for such a change for a long time, it is quite complicated to conduct it. Member states do not want to increase credibility and the influence of EU institutions. Moreover, states are not just their governments, they are also their citizens. Direct democracy is undoubtedly in their best interest, because it ensures citizens’ control. The president of the European Council, elected by a general ballot in an EU-wide election, will strengthen the link between the EU and its inhabitants. The only way forward is to ensure that EU citizens would have a political figure to identify with. None of the already existing EU institutions serve this end. Although such elections would be an organizational challenge, it is the best viable solution to establish this bond. To strive for a higher degree of sustainable democracy, wide-ranging reforms are a necessary step. The solutions mentioned above represent only the tip of the iceberg.