The Copenhagen hope: on democracy in the EU

... normative power, one that sets and promotes the norm - that is, of course, the basic values: democracy, the rule of law, and human rights including the rights of minorities - if one or more of its members, and therefore the Union as such, does not abide ... ... can’t simply cut off the rotten bit, either. There is no mechanism to eject a state from the EU, nor should there be one. The Copenhagen Dilemma was ignored precisely because no-one considered it a vaguely realistic scenario. There is one, only one tool ...