Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic?

The problem-solving capacity, and hence the democratic legitimacy, of national governments is being weakened by the dual processes of legal and economic integration in Europe. This loss is not fully compensated by the development of effective and legitimate problem-solving capabilities at the European level. This book examines the normative underpinnings of democratic legitimacy and the structural asymmetry between the effectiveness of the legal instruments of ‘negative integration’ which prevents governments from interfering with the free movement of goods, services, capital, and persons and the political constraints impeding positive political action at the European level. This is particularly true for policies pertaining to the welfare state. The book explores strategies at the national level that could succeed in maintaining welfare state goals even under conditions of international economic competition, and it also discusses the conditions under which European policy could play a protective and enabling role with regard to these national solutions. The book suggests that if these opportunities were used, multi-level governance in Europe could indeed regain both effectiveness and legitimacy.