EU Constituent Power and Collective Agency

This paper explores the claim that a democratic constituent power for the EU requires a modicum of collective agency (or collective will) that is unmediated by states. I take this to be the key critique that proponents of the idea that the EU is to rely on a ‘mixed constituent power’ level against the demoi-cratic position. The first part of the paper explores the positions in this debate to arrive at a conclusion that is sympathetic to the mixed constituent power position. The second part of paper then turns to the experiences with the European Parliament (EP) to assess the challenges that the idea of an EU constituent power faces. The focus on the EP is informed by the premise that the EP embodies the closest initiative to bringing about a sense of collective agency to the European level. Yet, thus far, the EP falls far short of realizing this sense of collective European agency. It are exactly the reasons for this shortfall that are to be explored as they provide critical insights in the viability of a democratic constituent power for the EU and the conditions under which it might emerge.