ABSTRACT
Although some national referenda, e.g. in Denmark, France and Ireland, were held for a ratification of treaty changes in the European Union (EU), direct legislation is highly neglected in most European Union countries as a viable supplement to purely parliamentary decision-making. Moreover, whenever the democratic deficit in the EU is addressed, an increase of the power of the European Parliament is regularly proposed without considering referenda and initiatives as institutions that would not only reduce the democratic deficit, but also start the creation of a ‘European Public’ for EU decisions (Hauser and Müller 1995; Grimm 1997).1 Only a few authors propose the introduction of referenda and initiatives at the EU level in order to enhance the legitimacy and the efficiency of political decisions in the EU (Kriesi 1991; Schneider 1993; Feld and Kirchgässner 1996).
