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Democracy cannot be taken for granted \u2013 not in Europe, not anywhere. As the EU Commission launches its Conference on the Future of Europe in 2021, we invite you to imagine this future with us. The Center for European Studies at the University of Washington presents the EU Democracy Forum, a series of virtual lectures by experts on European politics and society, addressing actors, institutions, and policies in the European Union. Our contributors reflect on the EU\u2019s achievements and challenges, and offer perspectives of how to strengthen and expand democratic processes and institutions, both in Brussels and in Europe more broadly. This forum aims to encourage discussion about the future of democracy in the EU, its member states, and the larger neighborhood.<\/p>\n
The series was opened by Dr. Niko Switek on January 11, 2021, with his lecture, A True Party Democracy in the EU? The Potential and Role of Transnational European Party Organizations<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Niko Switek is DAAD Visiting Assistant Professor for German Studies at the Henry M. Jackson School for International Studies and the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington. His research interests focus on political parties and party systems as well as on coalition politics. He wrote extensively about the green party family in Western Europe and he worked on parties on European level (\u2018Europarties\u2019).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dr. Switek\u2019s lecture presents the debate about a \u2018democratic deficit\u2019 of the European Union, and the role of Europarties in conjunction with this concern. Switek summarizes, \u201cOn a national level, we understand political parties to be a core element of a functioning and strong democracy – in this vein there is a discussion about the potential of the transnational European party federations to take on a more prominent role. One attempt was the Spitzenkandidaten (leading candidates) that were nominated on party congresses of the Europarties for the European elections in 2014 and 2019. They represented the joint election manifestos and engaged in multiple TV debates broadcasted in every EU member state, creating a rare instance of a European public. While the people apparently have appreciated the new model (the number of respondents that feel their voice counts in the EU went up significantly), it proved to not be in line with the larger institutional setting of the EU.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the EPP’s leading candidate Juncker became president of the European Commission in 2014, the European council in 2019 could not agree on one of the candidates and instead nominated Ursula von der Leyen. To be more influential, the Europarties would clearly need more substantial institutional reforms. However, considering the joint manifestos they offer and the role as communicators in the election campaigns, they surely will be addressed as one important building block when thinking about the future of the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Switek\u2019s lecture was recorded and is available as a podcast here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/euwesteurope\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2020\/12\/Niko-Switek-1-280x351-1563910187-239x300.jpg\")
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