THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS: ON THE MISSION TO REINFORCE THE DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS: ON THE MISSION TO REINFORCE THE DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Summary/Abstract: The Committee of the Regions was established to reinforce the democratic legitimacy of the European Union. All of the members and alternates of the Committee have to hold the democratic mandate at the regional or local level. At first sight, these two factors may lead to the conclusion that the Committee of the Regions offers the citizens the opportunity to be a part of the European decision-making process. That should specifically include the involvement of the citizens and taking their opinions into account during the later stages of the process. Such a situation would also lead to the reduction of the democratic deficit in the European Union. However, a closer look might prove otherwise. The article's aim is to evaluate if the Committee of the Regions does fulfill its mission. The concepts that serve as the theoretical foundation for the examination are participatory democracy, the input and output types of legitimacy as well as the democratic deficit. The main findings are based on the Author's own empirical research, conducted among the Polish members of the Committee of the Regions. The analysis contains also the explanation for current state of affairs as well as points out at the possible scenarios for the Committee's future.

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