DISINFO: The EU “out-of-control elite class” strips states of their statehood imposing its Marxists values
SUMMARY
The European Union is an impressive feat of political engineering. The strategy of the Brussels apparatus is to strip states of their statehood. Power is transferred to the apparatus, but without the unwanted accountability, visibility and other constraints that power holders in traditional countries are subjected to. The meaning of sovereignty has been blurred to the point of irrelevance. The European Union has become a cultural-Marxist “community of values.” Brussels has become the global headquarters of an out-of-control elite class, nourished by the legacy of the Frankfurt School.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives against the European Union accusing the EU of a lack of democracy. This disinformation narrative also plays with the classic tropes of lost sovereignty and a conspiratorial the elite vs. the people narrative, in this specific case, by an allegedly cultural Marxist elite.
The European Union is a democratic block. The EU’s democratic essence is guaranteed through several means, including political representatives at the European Parliament being elected by citizens through direct voting at the European elections, the existence of several institutions and bodies that ensure a full separation of powers, and the establishment of mechanisms for popular legislation through the European Citizens Initiative.
The European Council is the body made of the governments, elected by the citizens in national elections each member state. The European Commission is the EU's executive arm. Commissioners are first appointed by EU member states and then, as candidates, take part in hearings in the European Parliament. The EP members - which are elected by EU citizens directly - can reject a candidate and have exercised this power in the past.
As for the President of the European Commission, the candidacy needs to be agreed by the European Council, which is formed by democratically elected leaders of every member state. The European Commission as a whole is subject to a vote of consent by the Parliament and its members are then appointed by the European Council, acting by a qualified majority. In the whole process of appointing new EU leaders, the results of the European elections have to be taken into account.
Additionally, the European Parliament is one of the two co-legislators, which means that without it, legislation is not adopted. It also approves the EU budget, has control powers and the right to intervene before the European Court of Justice.
Finally, Article 5 of the Treaty on the European Union ensures the principle of subsidiarity, which guarantees that decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen and that constant checks are made to verify that action at EU level is justified in light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local level. It is the principle whereby the EU does not take action (except in the areas that fall within its exclusive competence), unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level.
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