The intricate question of European democracy: national parliamentary debates on the European Elections Act of 1976

Abstract

On 20 September 1976, the member states of the European Community signed the ‘Act concerning the Election of the Representatives of the Assembly by Direct Uni- versal Elections’, which was to introduce direct elections for the European Parliament in the member states. National parliamentary debates about the principle as well as the implementation of these elections were held in every member state. On the basis of these debates, this article investigates the ideas about European democracy that existed among members of national parliaments. It demonstrates that there were fun- damentally different philosophies about the role of the European Parliament and its relation to national parliament and various thoughts about the nature of European representation and the link to the voters. Finally, the article explores to what extent the national parliamentary debates can truly be seen as parts of a European debate.