Overcoming the democratic deficit in the European Union. The challenge of cross border cooperation

The European Union is based on and functions according to democratic principles. However, there is a large consensus that it suffers from democratic deficit. This concern is crucial because democracy is the core value of our modern societies, but also because it concerns the future of the European Union and how to make it through the economic and political crisis. The thesis investigates the challenge of reconstructing European democracy through the practice of cross-border cooperation and more specifically the implementation of deliberation at sub-national level of governance. The core of democracy is the people and the demos endows a polity with legitimacy. The changes related to the European integration process as well as the declining importance of nation-states in European governance push towards the redefinition of the concept of demos in terms of political citizenship and in order for the EU to build its own legitimacy. In the paper, the European democratic deficit is conceptualised, focusing on the psycho-sociological aspect, through the review of the academic debate and the standard principle of democracy. The thesis reveals the need for a more active citizenship connected to the involvement in policy shaping by the means of deliberation. It is assumed that multi-level governance enhances democratic governance through the involvement of multiple actors in networks. Through the case study of Dutch-German cross-border regions, it is established that cross-border cooperation constitutes a laboratory fostering the development of collective action and communicative spaces. At longer-term the practice of deliberation can foster the development of a civic identity and thus improve democratic legitimacy. Cross-border level appears to be appropriate to test innovative forms of democracy before implementing them at supranational level.