A Static or Dynamic Union: Euroscepticism and the Internal Legitimacy of the European Integration

Abstract

The article focuses on the role of the phenomenon of Euroscepticism in the
issue of the legitimacy of the European Union (EU), namely on the
relation between the current conceptualisation of Euroscepticism and
the EU’s ability to operate „imide“ the system as a credible actor. The
text is based on the analytical premise that the EU is not a static
entity modeled on a national unitary state or federation, but a
dynamic political system. The current definition of Euroscepticism,
however, is based on the notion of the EU having a static nature and the
existence of the finality of European integration process, which
significantly affects the EU political system’s ability to perform the
basic functions of a functioning political system – in particular the
function of evaluation and (re)formulation of policy objectives. The most
important consequence of this approach is the inability of the EU to receive
any critical feedback and work with it as a relevant political input.