Strengthening the European Parliament has brought EU decisions closer to the views of the public

EU treaty reforms have progressively increased the power of the European Parliament by making it a co-legislator with national governments in many important policy areas. But have these reforms had a positive impact on the EU’s democratic legitimacy? Drawing on a new study, Miriam Sorace demonstrates that decisions made jointly between national governments and the European Parliament tend to match public opinion more closely than those made by governments alone. This suggests that further empowering the Parliament and reducing the use of unanimous decision-making would help tackle the EU’s democratic deficit.