Media empower national parliamentarians in controversial EU issues
Controversial political debates may affect the course of European integration as mass media empower national parliamentarians in EU decision-making, shows Pieter de Wilde in his PhD dissertation.
(Photo: European Union)
The European Union (EU) and the process of European integration have become more controversial in many European countries since the beginning of the 1990s. De Wilde’s dissertation investigates how processes of ‘politicisation of European integration’ unfold and how this reflects back on the EU itself.
This is done through a detailed comparative case study of debates on the EU budget in the media and parliaments of the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland as they were held between 1992 and 2005.
Democratic accountability
The findings include that relations of democratic accountability are tightened as issues become more controversial. That is, political elites closer to citizens such as directly elected parliamentarians are empowered in relation to other more distant officials, such as civil servants, experts and lawyers.
Furthermore, national politicians are empowered over European ones as mass media provide a platform for national governments to present themselves and their ideas more than for European politicians. However, when issues become more fiercely contested in public, a broader range of representatives finds access to the media, including EU institutions, national parliamentarians, interest groups and regional governments. Such media coverage is in turn used by national parliamentarians to hold their governments to account.
Pieter de Wilde defended his dissertation 19 November. (Photo: ARENA)
European integration
These findings are important for our understanding of how the EU is developing. Political debates held in the media and other forums may have a profound impact on the EU. Such debates have the power to affect how people think of the EU and what they expect of it.
Also, debates can bring to the fore some representatives at the cost of others, empowering them and their institutions. This affects the relationship between national parliaments and national governments in EU decision-making processes, between the Member States and EU institutions, and between different EU institutions like the European Commission and the European Parliament.