Federalism as a Concept of Development of the European Union

Cilj ovog rada je pokazati da se pitanje institucionalnog uređenja Europske unije, i demokratskog deficita koji proizlazi iz djelomične nelegitimnosti tog uređenja, može riješiti korištenjem federalizma kao koncepta upravljanja kompleksnim političkim sustavima. Upućuje se na ključne razlike između federalizma i konfederalizma te se pokazuje da federalizam kao koncept uređenja kompleksnih sustava ne mora voditi pretvaranju nekog političkog entiteta u punokrvnu federaciju. Modeli federaliziranosti, poput necentraliziranog federalizma, daju moguće rješenje demokratskog deficita Europske unije, jačajući tako, a ne slabeći, demokratsku legitimnost u očima građana.The aim of this paper is to show that federalism is the proper tool for resolving problems stemming from the institutional structure of the European Union, i.e. for lowering the democratic deficit that is a product of partial illegitimacy of said structure. Federalism is the proper tool for resolving EU problems, as it is a concept most closely linked to complex political systems, and the European Union is one of the most complex systems in the world. This paper presents the main differences between federalism and confederalism, while showing that federalism does not necessarily transform a political entity into a full-fledged federation. Different models of federalism, mainly decentralized federalism, if properly used, could help resolve the democratic deficit of the European Union, strengthening the democratic legitimacy of its system among the citizens