Europe's Legitimacy Crisis - From Causes to Solutions

This Pivot examines the complex and interwoven issues raised by the European Union's crisis of legitimacy, as well as possible roads to recovery.

It is distinctive in presenting an analysis that does not examine only the Eurozone crisis in its financial and economic dimensions but also illustrates that the crisis is in fact a series of crises at the heart of the entire EU project of integration

It considers this crisis of legitimacy as a culmination of institutional and governmental deficiencies, including inadequate structures and weak policy responses to regional and domestic challenges.

The persistence of the crisis draws attention to the inadequacy of the treaty route and of current policy responses to deal effectively with challenges of legitimacy, economic stagnation, loss of competitiveness and related problems.

The authors argue that a clearer focus on social cohesion and democratic participation, with a central role for citizen debate, are key routes to recovery.