ABSTRACT
The lack of democracy, the ‘democratic deficit’, is a recurrent theme in European political debate. It has been frequently remarked that the European Union would not itself meet the criteria it imposes upon candidate countries. Decisions are still taken by ministers meeting in secret, and hence beyond public opinion. The increasing involvement of the European Parliament in the EU’s legislative work and the publication of the Council’s voting records (though not its deliberations) incontestably represent progress. But Europe remains largely the privileged reserve of politicians, diplomats, high-ranking officials, top management and experts of all sorts who, all taken together, fall badly short of meeting the expectations of the ordinary man and woman on the ‘Clapham omnibus’ or, for that matter, the Brussels tram.
