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56-472: Democracy International means: Democracy International eV , a German organization with an international focus on the promotion of direct democracy Democracy International, Inc , a U.S. organization that advises and assists on behalf of governments, ministries and NGOs in democracy and governance projects Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

112-453: A union of states does not "emphasise sovereignty or the separation of domestic and foreign affairs [and it] has become a highly developed system for mutual interference in each other's domestic affairs, right down to beer and sausages.". However, on defence and foreign policy issues (and, pre- Lisbon Treaty , police and judicial matters) less sovereignty is transferred, with issues being dealt with by unanimity and co-operation. Very early on in

168-561: A direct say in the European Union’s decision-making. The aim is a democratic legitimated Europe. In 2014, the organisation started a campaign called ‚Democratic Europe Now‘, which is now a broad alliance of civil society groups from all of Europe. The association has established criteria for the composition of a new European Convention. To ensure maximum democratic legitimacy, it requires the Convention members to be not only representatives of

224-494: A formalisation of the situation. EU integration is not always symmetrical, with some states proceeding with integration ahead of hold-outs. There are several different forms of closer integration both within and outside the EU's normal framework. One mechanism is enhanced cooperation where nine or more states can use EU structures to progress in a field that not all states are willing to partake in. Some states have gained an opt-out in

280-587: A greater or lesser extent. If an aspect is not listed in the table below, then it remains the exclusive competence of the member state. Perhaps the best known example is taxation, which remains a matter of state sovereignty. As a result of the European sovereign debt crisis , some eurozone states were given a bailout from their fellow members via the European Financial Stability Facility and European Financial Stability Mechanism (replaced by

336-401: A monarch although political powers are exercised by elected politicians. Most republics and all the monarchies operate a parliamentary system whereby the head of state (president or monarch) has a largely ceremonial role with reserve powers . That means most power is in the hands of what is called in most of those countries the prime minister, who is accountable to the national parliament . Of

392-453: A new country applying from scratch. However, other studies claim internal enlargement is legally viable if, in case of a member state dissolution or secession, the resulting states are all considered successor states . There is also a European Citizens' Initiative that aims at guaranteeing the continuity of rights and obligations of the European citizens belonging to a new state arising from

448-519: A reinforcement of the ECI. The Commission published its proposal for a reinforced ECI by mid-September 2017. Democracy International had made eleven recommendations to the Commission. Two of them were fully accepted, six were partially accepted and three were either rejected or not mentioned. The revised ECI is expected to be in effect by the next European elections. Democracy International continues to campaign for

504-528: A state must fulfil the economic and political requirements known as the Copenhagen criteria , which require a candidate to have a democratic government and free-market economy together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect for the rule of law . Enlargement of the Union is also contingent upon the consent of all existing members and the candidate's adoption of the existing body of EU law, known as

560-603: A stronger follow up to successful ECIs . Democracy International seeks to provide opportunities for activists and organisations who work on democracy to network and exchange ideas. The „Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy“, which takes place every two years, is the central platform connecting specialists, activists and organisations working on this subject internationally. Democracy International regularly issues monitoring reports and position papers on direct democracy issues. The reports assess referendums and plebiscites with international standards of direct democracy as set by

616-462: A template for the pro-EU regions of the UK remaining within the EU or its single market. Beyond the formal withdrawal of a member state, there are a number of independence movements such as Catalonia or Flanders which could result in a similar situation to Greenland. Were a territory of a member state to secede but wish to remain in the EU, some scholars claim it would need to reapply to join as if it were

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672-592: Is no provision to expel a member state, but TEU Article 7 provides for the suspension of certain rights. Introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam , Article 7 outlines that if a member persistently breaches the EU's founding principles (liberty, democracy, human rights and so forth, outlined in TEU Article 2 ) then the European Council can vote to suspend any rights of membership, such as voting and representation. Identifying

728-627: Is superior to State law is subject to some debate. The treaties do not give a judgement on the matter but court judgements have established EU's law superiority over national law and it is affirmed in a declaration attached to the Treaty of Lisbon (the proposed European Constitution would have fully enshrined this). The legal systems of some states also explicitly accept the Court of Justice's interpretation, such as France and Italy, however in Poland it does not override

784-479: The acquis communautaire . The United Kingdom , which had acceded to the EU's predecessor in 1973, ceased to be an EU member state on 31 January 2020, in a political process known as Brexit . No other member state has withdrawn from the EU and none has been suspended, although some dependent territories or semi-autonomous areas have left . There are a number of overseas member state territories which are legally part of

840-522: The ECI campaign . Facing the legal changes of the European Union, which are the result of the European stability mechanism and the European fiscal pact, the organisation calls for the convocation of a new European Convention. A convention is an assembly not only of representatives of politics, economy and civil society, but should also include citizens. Purpose of the assembly should be to give European citizens

896-554: The European Commission a European commissioner . The commissioners do not represent their member state, but instead work collectively in the interests of all the member states within the EU. In the 1950s, six core states founded the EU's predecessor European Communities ( Belgium , France , Italy , Luxembourg , the Netherlands , and West Germany ). The remaining states have acceded in subsequent enlargements . To accede,

952-471: The European Commission . Since the launch of the ECI on 1 April 2012, Democracy International advocates that the ECI must become more citizen-friendly and that the general public must be more aware of the first tool of direct democracy at transnational level. In 2015 Democracy International has been campaigning for a reform of the European Citizens' Initiative. Window of opportunity was the revision of

1008-527: The European Parliamentary Elections to strengthen the link between the citizens of the European Union and the parties that represent them. The association also supports other democracy activists with their campaigns. Democracy International has close connections to Mehr Demokratie e.V. Germany, Mehr Demokratie Austria, Meer Democratie, Demokratie.nu in Belgium, OMNIBUS für Direkte Demokratie and

1064-517: The European Stability Mechanism from 2013), but this came with conditions. As a result of the Greek government-debt crisis , Greece accepted a large austerity plan including privatisations and a sell off of state assets in exchange for their bailout. To ensure that Greece complied with the conditions set by the European troika (ECB, IMF, Commission), a 'large-scale technical assistance' from

1120-472: The National Council of Slovenia . All elections in member states use some form of proportional representation . The most common type of proportional representation is the party-list system . There are also differences in the level of self-governance for the sub-regions of a member state. Most states, especially the smaller ones, are unitary states ; meaning all major political power is concentrated at

1176-530: The euro . For a state to join the European Union, the prior approval of all current member states is required. In addition to enlargement by adding new countries, the EU can also expand by having territories of member states, which are outside the EU, integrate more closely (for example in respect to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles ) or by a territory of a member state which had previously seceded and then rejoined (see withdrawal below). There

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1232-486: The state's constitution , which it does in Germany. The exact areas where the member states have given legislative competence to the Union are as follows. Every area not mentioned remains with member states. In EU terminology, the term 'competence' means 'authority or responsibility to act'. The table below shows which aspects of governance are exclusively for collective action (through the commission) and which are shared to

1288-668: The Direct Democracy Navigator. This online-tool helps people to compare direct-democratic instruments all over the world. Democracy International accuses the European Union of a lack of transparency when it comes to lobbyism. Democracy International promotes more transparency and a mandatory lobby register. Amongst others the organization started a campaign in 2014, in which proposals of citizens to dam in lobbyism in Europe have been selected. Democracy International then handed over

1344-459: The ECI - the EU regulation on the European Citizens' Initiative demands a review of the ECI every three years. In this context of reform, Democracy International submitted to the EU institutions a set of reform proposals. Also, Democracy International run a broad campaign. The petition "Save the ECI", which French economist Thomas Piketty and the German political scientist Gesine Schwan both supported,

1400-544: The EU (sometimes referred to as supranational ) make it unique among international organisations, as it has established its own legal order which by the provisions of the founding treaties is both legally binding and supreme on all the member states (after a landmark ruling of the ECJ in 1964 ). A founding principle of the union is subsidiarity , meaning that decisions are taken collectively if and only if they cannot realistically be taken individually. Each member country appoints to

1456-595: The EU institutions and the Member States, but to include representatives from the civil society sector and/or representatives directly elected by the European citizens. Additionally, the meetings should be transparent and open to the public. Rather than elaborating proposals that are then to be decided by the presidency, the Convention members should directly determine what the final draft should entail. In addition, Democracy International requires sufficient time for serious and thorough deliberation. The new Convention must give

1512-417: The EU labour market . According to the Copenhagen criteria , membership of the European Union is open to any European country that is a stable, free-market liberal democracy that respects the rule of law and human rights. Furthermore, it has to be willing to accept all the obligations of membership, such as adopting all previously agreed law (the 170,000 pages of acquis communautaire ) and switching to

1568-575: The EU, but have certain exemptions based on their remoteness; see Overseas Countries and Territories Association . These "outermost regions" have partial application of EU law and in some cases are outside of Schengen or the EU VAT area—however they are legally within the EU. They all use the euro as their currency. Abbreviations have been used as a shorthand way of grouping countries by their date of accession. Additionally, other abbreviations have been used to refer to countries which had limited access to

1624-612: The European Commission and other member states was deployed to Greek government ministries. Some, including the President of the Euro Group Jean-Claude Juncker , stated that "the sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited." The situation of the bailed out countries (Greece, Portugal and Ireland) has been described as being a ward or protectorate of the EU with some such as the Netherlands calling for

1680-595: The European Parliament; prospective justices must be confirmed by the existing members. Historically, larger member states were granted an extra Commissioner. However, as the body grew, this right has been removed and each state is represented equally. The six largest states are also granted an Advocates General in the Court of Justice. Finally, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank includes

1736-513: The States to Community, the Member States have limited their sovereign rights and have thus created a body of law which binds both their nationals and themselves...The transfer by the States from their domestic legal system to the Community legal system of the rights and obligations arising under the Treaty carries with it a permanent limitation of their sovereign rights. The question of whether Union law

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1792-404: The UK eventually withdrew from the EU on 31 January 2020. Prior to 2016, no member state had voted to withdraw. However, French Algeria , Greenland and Saint-Barthélemy did cease being part of the EU (or its predecessor) in 1962, 1985, and 2012, respectively, due to status changes. The situation of Greenland being outside the EU while still subject to an EU member state had been discussed as

1848-581: The Venice Commission and leading experts on direct democracy. Democracy International is a partner of the Direct Democracy Navigator, an information platform that lists legal instruments of direct democracy available throughout the world. Member state of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties , and thereby subject to

1904-458: The breach requires unanimity (excluding the state concerned), but sanctions require only a qualified majority. The state in question would still be bound by the obligations treaties and the Council acting by majority may alter or lift such sanctions. The Treaty of Nice included a preventive mechanism whereby the council, acting by majority, may identify a potential breach and make recommendations to

1960-647: The council are both members of the organisation. The members elect Democracy International’s executive board at the general assembly, which is held at least every two years. The board steers the political course and represents the organisation externally. Democracy groups with more than seven members can become a member of the council. The task of the council is to advise and to support the executive board with its work. Membership fees vary according to country of residence. Democracy International regularly runs campaigns to promote democracy. It also organizes conferences, provides knowledge on direct democracy and publishes

2016-452: The democratic secession of a European Union member state. Each state has representation in the institutions of the European Union . Full membership gives the government of a member state a seat in the Council of the European Union and European Council . When decisions are not being taken by consensus , qualified majority voting (which requires majorities both of the number of states and of

2072-516: The directly elected lower house and require its support to stay in office—the exception being Cyprus with its presidential system. Upper houses are composed differently in different member states: it can be directly elected like the Polish senate ; indirectly elected, for example, by regional legislatures like the Federal Council of Austria ; or unelected, but representing certain interest groups like

2128-418: The first provision and procedure of a member state to leave the bloc. The procedure for a state to leave is outlined in TEU Article 50 which also makes clear that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Although it calls for a negotiated withdrawal between the seceding state and the rest of the EU, if no agreement is reached two years after

2184-555: The founding treaties from participating in certain policy areas. The admission of a new state the Union is limited to liberal democracies and Freedom House ranks all EU states as being totally free electoral democracies. All but 4 are ranked at the top 1.0 rating. However, the exact political system of a state is not limited, with each state having its own system based on its historical evolution. More than half of member states—16 out of 27—are parliamentary republics , while six states are constitutional monarchies , meaning they have

2240-428: The governors of the national central banks (who may or may not be government appointed) of each euro area country. The larger states traditionally carry more weight in negotiations, however smaller states can be effective impartial mediators and citizens of smaller states are often appointed to sensitive top posts to avoid competition between the larger states. This, together with the disproportionate representation of

2296-415: The history of the EU, the unique state of its establishment and pooling of sovereignty was emphasised by the Court of Justice: By creating a Community of unlimited duration, having its own institutions, its own personality, its own legal capacity and capacity of representation on the international plane and, more particularly, real powers stemming from a limitation of sovereignty or a transfer of powers from

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2352-417: The institutions in return for representation within those institutions. This practice is often referred to as 'pooling of sovereignty'. Those institutions are then empowered to make laws and execute them at a European level. If a state fails to comply with the law of the European Union , it may be fined or have funds withdrawn. In contrast to some international organisations, the EU's style of integration as

2408-587: The larger ones). The members of the European Parliament have been elected by universal suffrage since 1979 (before that, they were seconded from national parliaments ). The national governments appoint one member each to the European Commission , the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Auditors . Prospective Commissioners must be confirmed both by the President of the Commission and by

2464-477: The member states are sovereign, the union partially follows a supranational system for those functions agreed by treaty to be shared. ("Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the member states"). Previously limited to European Community matters, the practice, known as the ' community method ', is currently used in many areas of policy. Combined sovereignty is delegated by each member to

2520-463: The national level. 9 states allocate power to more local levels of government. Austria, Belgium and Germany are full federations, meaning their regions have constitutional autonomies. Denmark, Finland, France and the Netherlands are federacies , meaning some regions have autonomy but most do not. Spain and Italy have systems of devolution where regions have autonomy, but the national government retains

2576-458: The population they represent, but a sufficient blocking minority can veto the proposal). The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among each of the member states, allowing each state six months to help direct the agenda of the EU. Similarly, each state is assigned seats in Parliament according to their population (smaller countries receiving more seats per inhabitant than

2632-414: The privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their own sovereignty through the institutions of the European Union in certain aspects of government. State governments must agree unanimously in the Council for the union to adopt some policies; for others, collective decisions are made by qualified majority voting . These obligations and sharing of sovereignty within

2688-450: The remaining republics, four operate a semi-presidential system , where competences are shared between the president and prime minister, while one republic operates a presidential system , where the president is head of both state and government. Parliamentary structure in member states varies: there are 15 unicameral national parliaments and 12 bicameral parliaments. The prime minister and government are usually directly accountable to

2744-455: The results to Sven Giegold , the European Parliament's rapporteur in the “Report on Transparency, Integrity and Accountability”. Since the Commission is headed by Jean- Claude Juncker , a voluntary lobby register has been put in place. Democracy International campaigns to make this register mandatory. The organisation promotes a transnational European electoral law. Democracy International favors European-wide, transnational electoral lists in

2800-476: The same day, in a pan-European referendum. In 2002 Democracy International together with numerous democracy activists throughout Europe campaigned for the inclusion of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) in the EU draft Constitutional Treaty, which then was integrated in the Treaty of Lisbon . The ECI requires one million signatures from at least seven EU Member States to suggest an EU law proposal to

2856-618: The seceding state notifying of its intention to leave, it would cease to be subject to the treaties anyway (thus ensuring a right to unilateral withdrawal). There is no formal limit to how much time a member state can take between adopting a policy of withdrawal, and actually triggering Article 50. In a referendum in June 2016 , the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the EU. The UK government triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. After an extended period of negotiation and internal political debate

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2912-431: The smaller states in terms of votes and seats in parliament, gives the smaller EU states a greater power of influence than is normally attributed to a state of their size. However most negotiations are still dominated by the larger states. This has traditionally been largely through the " Franco-German motor" but Franco-German influence has diminished slightly following the influx of new members in 2004 (see G6 ). While

2968-522: The state to rectify it before action is taken against it as outlined above. However, the treaties do not provide any mechanism to expel a member state outright. Prior to the Lisbon Treaty , there was no provision or procedure within any of the Treaties of the European Union for a member state to withdraw from the European Union or its predecessor organisations. The Lisbon Treaty changed this and included

3024-532: The title Democracy International . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democracy_International&oldid=838017945 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Democracy International eV Individual people and democracy groups of

3080-440: The working groups more than one year to complete their analyses and proposals. Participatory mechanisms should be in place, that allow citizens and civil society to give input and to contribute to the proceedings. To accomplish that the Convention needs to facilitate digital and traditional platforms for citizens and civil society. Finally, the results of the Convention process should be put to popular vote in all EU Member States on

3136-635: Was the core element of this campaign. More than 75,000 citizens from all across the EU signed the petition that Democracy International together with Mehr Demokratie e.V. and WeMove.eu handed over to the EU Parliament in Strasbourg on 28 October 2015. On the same day, the European Parliament adopted the report on the European Citizens' Initiative, which contained seven out of nine reform proposals by Democracy International. On 16 August 2017 Democracy International handed over 100,000 signatures of Europeans demanding

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