Democracy and Sovereignty: How to make Two Controversial Concepts Complementary within the European Integration Process

This paper argues that one of the main reasons behind the recent stalemate in the European integration process is the exclusion of the principle of ‘sovereignty’ as the main building bloc of the international system, from this process. Particularly, the bias of European elites against the nation-state (and thus its sovereignty) due to the devastating effects of the ultra-nationalism (Fascism and Nazism) in Europe and the assumption that the loyalty of European nations would be shifted from the nation-state to the European institutions in time resulted in the ignorance of sovereignty; thus, the institutionalization of democracy in Europe was initiated in a federal way. For example, the democratic measures such as the principle of subsidiarity and the more power transfer to the European Parliament had a federal logic excluding the principle of sovereignty. Unexpectedly, the recent rise of Euroscepticism among the European nations has shown that sovereignty is a fact which cannot be ignored as a result of the bias, ambitions or assumptions of the European elites. Therefore, this paper argues that the symbiotic institutionalization of democracy and sovereignty within the EU framework is needed to make the European integration effective and attractive again.