grant/europe layout 18/10/02 6:42 PM Page 71
Confronting the democratic deficit
71
people. Of course there is a risk that the British commissioner might come from a different party to the government. But that is the case with the current system of appointed commissioners: when Mr Blair took office Britain’s senior commissioner was the Conservative Sir Leon Brittan. As for the danger that elections for commissioners might install Michael Portillo in Brussels, an appointment—by prime minister William Hague or John Redwood—could produce the same result. In any event, elected commissioners, whether Eurosceptic or a Europhile, would have a strong incentive to behave responsibly; those that charged around like a bull in a china shop would soon gain a reputation for incompetence back home. If the Commission remains as illegitimate as it is today, the happiest people will be Eurosceptics. For they know that the weakest link in the armour of pro-Europeans is the undemocratic and ineffective nature of EU institutions. As Mark Leonard has argued, there is a close correlation between the legitimacy of institutions and their effectiveness. A Commission that does not believe in its own legitimacy will be less willing to stand up to member-states and is more likely to ally itself to particular lobbies or interests. Governments might be more willing to accept elections for commissioners if at the same time they could find ways of clipping the Commission’s wings. They could define the areas in which it can propose binding legislation more narrowly than do the current treaties. Since the Commission has tended to make a poor job of managing EU programmes, such as aid to Eastern Europe and to the developing countries, some of its administrative tasks could be hived off to independent agencies. And the Parliament could (as mentioned above) be given a greater role in scrutinising the efficiency with which the Commission spends money.
All about results Various sorts of institutional reform can certainly help to make the Union more acceptable to its people. But in the long run the Union will flourish or perish according to the success, or otherwise, of its ventures, and the ability, or otherwise, of political leaders to communicate such achievements as there are. The EU has to cope with at least four major challenges in order to win the respect of its citizens. First, it should ensure that enlargement into