The EU has not done its job

The author contends that the EU's failure to end austerity and its lack of transparency have alienated citizens, particularly young people, contributing to the success of right-wing populist parties in the 2014 European Parliament elections. To counter this, the text advocates for institutional reforms such as transnational lists, increased legislative powers for the European Parliament, and a New Convention ratified by referendum. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for EU-focused education in school curricula and better coverage of EU matters in national media to bridge the gap between the EU and its citizens.

• The 2014 European Parliament elections saw a rise in support for far-right and right-wing populist parties, particularly among young people, which the author attributes to the EU's inability to provide successful solutions to social and economic challenges.
• A combination of austerity measures, high unemployment, a democratic deficit, and a lack of transparency in decision-making led to a 43.1% voter turnout and increased euroscepticism.
• To improve democratic legitimacy, the author proposes several institutional reforms: implementing transnational lists, granting the European Parliament legislative powers, making the Commission more accountable through a two-thirds confidence vote, and establishing a New Convention open to civil society and ratified by an EU-wide referendum.
• The author identifies a failure in media and education, suggesting that national commercial media prioritize consumerist propaganda over EU public interest and that EU-related topics should be integrated into school curricula from an early age.

APA

Bloss, K. D. M. D. M. (2014). The EU has not done its job. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-eu-has-not-done-its-job/

Chicago

Bloss, Krassina Demireva, Maria Dokupilova, Michael. The EU has not done its job. Green European Journal, 2014. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-eu-has-not-done-its-job/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Bloss |first1=Krassina Demireva, Maria Dokupilova, Michael |title=The EU has not done its job |publisher=Green European Journal |date=4 June 2014 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-eu-has-not-done-its-job/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{bloss2014has, author = {Bloss, Krassina Demireva, Maria Dokupilova, Michael}, title = {{The EU has not done its job}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/the-eu-has-not-done-its-job/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }