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The EU parliament - voting is just one part of the internationally accepted definition of democracy (Photo: EUobserver)

Defining democracy - an EU imperative

The Czech and Swedish EU presidencies have launched a debate on a European consensus on democracy, which raises the question whether the EU should define a notion of democracy. This is welcome, because the controversial question of democratic standards permeates many aspects of the EU's foreign policy, be it the Copenhagen criteria for EU accession, the human rights and democracy clauses in international agreements or the EU's programmes of democracy promotion. Clarity on what Europe means by...

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The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

The EU parliament - voting is just one part of the internationally accepted definition of democracy (Photo: EUobserver)

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Author Bio

Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.

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