event
Carnegie Europe

How to Fix EU Democracy

Wed. February 18th, 2015
Brussels

To everyday citizens, the EU institutions appear distant, obscure, and elitist. After a record low turnout for last year’s European Parliament elections, the legitimacy of these institutions is now at stake. With populism and Euroskepticism on the rise, how can the EU win back the trust of its people?

Carnegie’s Stefan Lehne was joined by Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society European Policy Institute, and Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, vice president of the European Parliament, to debate how the EU can restore its democratic legitimacy by offering solutions that feel relevant to people outside the Brussels bubble. Thomas Carothers, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, moderated.

This event marked the launch of Grabbe and Lehne’s latest paper, “Emotional Intelligence for EU Democracy.”

Heather Grabbe

Heather Grabbe is director of the Open Society European Policy Institute.

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff is vice president of the European Parliament.

Stefan Lehne

Stefan Lehne is a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe.

Thomas Carothers

Thomas Carothers is vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and founder and director of the Democracy and Rule of Law Program.

DemocracyEUWestern EuropeEurope
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Thomas Carothers

Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Director, Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program

Thomas Carothers, director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, is a leading expert on comparative democratization and international support for democracy.

Heather Grabbe

Grabbe is director of the Open Society European Policy Institute.

Alexander Graf Graf Lambsdorff

European Parliament

Stefan Lehne

Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe

Lehne is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels, where his research focuses on the post–Lisbon Treaty development of the European Union’s foreign policy, with a specific focus on relations between the EU and member states.