ABSTRACT
In national settings it is held that the solidarity and trust required for integration to come about are provided for by common sentiments in civic associations and primordial communities. Intergovernmentalists who hold that the European Union (EU) is merely an entity for solving the (given) problems of the Member States are faced with a problem in so far as the EU is becoming a far-reaching polity, in territorial, functional and legal terms. The EU is a puzzle for theories that take preferences as given, or that see integration as dependent upon civic values and commonalities. Further, (neo-) functionalists are faced with explanatory problems, because functional efficiency does not justify outcomes but is itself in need of legitimation. There is thus a need for another perspective on integration, in particular one that makes space for the impact of democratic legitimation.
