ABSTRACT
The construction of European Union (EU) institutions over the past half century has transformed democracy on the old continent. One perspective suggests that the gradual transfer of policy authority to EU institutions from member state governments empowers supranational officials, whose accountability to the European public pales in comparison with that of elected officials in member states. In contrast, another perspective suggests that EU institutions grant access to policy authority to groups of citizens that are excluded from the narrow and closed networks characterizing several policy sectors at the level of member states. Which of these perspectives is the right one? Does the EU make Europe more or less democratic? This chapter seeks answers to these questions.
