European Sovereignty, Legitimacy, and Power

Bart M.J. Szewczyk is Adjunct Professor at Sciences Po in Paris, France.

"This book insightfully examines a problem associated with all divided-power systems, but which assumes special salience in the European Union context, namely, the urgency of reconciling the effective exercise of authority at the central or federal-like level and the assertedly compelling interests of a constituent entity, in this case the EU Member States, whose interests are subject to qualified majority voting. Szewczyk demonstrates that, while maintenance of this balance is feasible, it is an ongoing challenge. The book is not only valuable for those seeking to appreciate the dimensions of this challenge, but also instructive for the actors that are responsible for meeting it." George Bermann, Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law, Columbia Law School"The question as to whether the EU can rightly be called a sovereign entity or at least shares sovereignty with the member states is still contested. Bart Szewczyk’s book takes a fresh look at the problem and makes suggestions for improving the legitimacy of the EU, based on the political concept of EU citizenship." Dieter Grimm, Former Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, Professor of Public Law at Humboldt University Berlin"Szewczyk offers an incisive analysis of the European Union’s dual sovereignty–legitimacy problem. He proposes a convincing reconceptualization of the elements of the European project as a way of making it a more efficient and perfect Union. This is an important book."Michael Reisman, Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law, Yale Law School

• Introduction 1. Theories of Sovereignty and Legitimacy 2. Insufficient Solutions to the EU’s Sovereignty-Legitimacy Problem 3. Internal Sources of EU Principles 4. External Sources of EU Principles 5. European Citizenship and National Democracy. Conclusion