Consequently, all European Union member states are directly elected democracies that are considered to be "free" according to the criteria of Freedom House. As of 2015, all European Union member states are representative democracies; however, they do not all have the same political system, with most of the differences arising from different historical backgrounds.
Many of the states in the neighbourhood of the European Union are not considered to be "free" by the same criteria.[1] Most European states neighbouring the European Union are considered to be "free" or "partly free" by Freedom House, with the exceptions of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Russia. On the other hand, almost all of the states in North Africa and Southwest Asia that neighbour the European Union are not considered to be "free", with the exceptions of Israel and Tunisia.[1]
Monarchism and republicanism
At present, there are twelve monarchies in Europe, of which seven are members of the European Union: Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and five are not: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway and the Vatican City. All seven monarchies in the European Union are constitutional monarchies. In all seven monarchies that are in the EU, the monarch is legally prohibited from using political power, or the monarch does not utilise the political powers vested in the office by convention. At the dawn of the 20th century, France was the only republic among the future members states of the European Union; the ascent of republicanism to the political mainstream only started at the beginning of the 20th century. In Belgium, the monarchy enjoys a lower degree of support than in other European monarchies, and is often questioned.[5] Popular support for the monarchy has historically been higher in Flanders and lower in Wallonia; however, in recent decades these roles have reversed.[6]
Form of government
There are three types of government systems in European politics: in a presidential system, the president is the head of state and the head of government; in a semi-presidential system, the president and the prime minister share a number of competences; finally, in a parliamentary republic, the president is a ceremonial figurehead who has few political competences. As with the definition of constitutional monarchies, sometimes the president does have non-ceremonial competences, but does not use them by constitutional convention; this is the case in Austria, for instance.
A further distinction is the number of chambers in the national legislature; unicameral systems with one chamber or bicameral ones with a lower house and an upper house. Federations and countries with strong regional differences or regional identities are normally bicameral, to reflect the regions' interests in national bills. The states with the larger populations, from the Netherlands upwards, all have a bicameral system. Although there is a greater mix among the smaller states (some influenced by their federalist structure), the smallest states are on the whole unicameral.
While there had been legislatures with more than two chambers (tricameral and tetracameral ones), nowadays there are only unicameral and bicameral ones. Additionally, there are also differences in the degree of bicameralism. Whereas Italy is considered as having "perfect bicameralism", with both chambers being equal, most other bicameral systems restrict the upper house's powers to a certain extent. There is a slight trend towards unicameralism; some upper houses have seen their powers reduced or proposals to that end. Belgium's system has been reduced from a perfectly bicameral one to a nowadays de facto unicameral system. In 2009, Romania voted in favour of unicameralism, on a plebiscite, however the country still has a bicameral system, as of 2024. On the other hand, Ireland narrowly voted against abolishing their upper house in 2013, and Italy voted not to reduce its Senate's powers in 2016.
In the member states of the European Union, if the parliament has only one chamber, it is wholly directly elected in all cases. If there are two chambers, the lower house is directly elected in all cases, while the upper house can be directly elected (e.g. the Senate of Poland); or indirectly elected, for example, by regional legislatures (e.g. the Federal Council of Austria); or non-elected, but representing certain interest groups (e.g. the National Council of Slovenia); or non-elected (though by and large appointed by elected officials) as a remnant of a non-democratic political system in earlier times (as in the House of Lords in the United Kingdom).
VII^ : In addition to the 315 elected members, there are currently five senators for life (senatore a vita); these include former Italian President, who is ex officio senator for life, as well as senators appointed by the President "for outstanding patriotic merits in the social, scientific, artistic or literary field". There can only be five appointed senators in addition to the ex officio ones at any one time.
VIII^ : Technically, the House of Representatives only has 65 members; the additional two seats are overhang seats to ensure a majority of MPs for the party which gained the most votes in the 2017 election.
IX^ : The name Zgromadzenie Narodowe is only used on the rare occasions when both houses sit together.
^ abcFreedom House (1 January 2015). "2015". Freedom in the World. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
^European Commission (6 May 2006). "1993". The History of the European Union. Archived from the original on 24 July 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung (23 June 2006). "Bundeskanzlerin". Retrieved 23 June 2006.
^Central Intelligence Agency (16 March 2006). "Germany". World Leaders. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Governo Italiano (23 June 2006). "Governo Italiano". Retrieved 23 June 2006.
^Central Intelligence Agency (7 June 2006). "Italy". World Leaders. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ abCentral Intelligence Agency (24 March 2006). "Luxembourg". World Leaders. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Central Intelligence Agency (9 March 2006). "Portugal". World Leaders. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Information and Press Department (23 June 2006). "Royal Court / Kungahuset". Archived from the original on 15 June 2006. Retrieved 23 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Prime Minister's Office (23 June 2006). "10 Downing Street". Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Sénat (27 June 2006). "Sénat". Retrieved 27 June 2006.
^Central Intelligence Agency (13 June 2006). "France – Government". The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Central Intelligence Agency (13 June 2006). "Luxembourg – Government". The World Factbook. Retrieved 28 June 2006.
^House of Representatives (27 June 2006). "House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Riksdagen / Riksdagen (27 June 2006). "Riksdagen". Retrieved 27 June 2006.
^ abcInformation Policy Division, Office of Public Sector Information (27 June 2006). "Houses of Parliament". Retrieved 27 June 2006. ((cite web)): |author= has generic name (help)
^Federal Government of Belgium (28 June 2006). "Brussels–Capital Region". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Parlement-Wallon (27 June 2006). "Parlement wallon". Retrieved 27 June 2006.
^Federal Government of Belgium (28 June 2006). "Walloon Region". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2006. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Dolan, Terence. "Dáil". Hiberno-English archive. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2008. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Dolan, Terence. "Seanad Éireann". Hiberno-English archive. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2008. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^Government of Gibraltar (20 April 2005). "Government of Gibraltar". Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2007. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)