ABSTRACT
Crises are not new phenomena in the European Union (EU) construction, but the question is whether the present crisis is good or bad. It is even plausible to imagine a vicious triangle emerging: first, the collapse of the Euro; then, the collapse of the European Union and, finally, the collapse of democracy in its member states. For the last 20-30 years, the EU has become associated with gradually declining to negative outcomes. Ever since the Single European Act in 1986 and the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, its policies have conformed closer and closer to neo-liberal doctrinal principles of financial liberalization and market deregulation. Democracy in Europe has long been a national or sub-national product and, therefore, the collapse of the EU would not seem to threaten its viability. Its multi-layered and poly-centric system of 'supra-national governance' has had some negative effects on the practice of domestic democracy.
