PERSPECTIVE DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS MAKE EU ECO­NOMIC POLICY ACCOUNTABLE How to Reinforce the Democratic Legitimacy of European Economic Governance Julian Plottka July 2020 Due to the latest reforms dur­ing the crisis in the euro area, European economic govern­ance has evolved into an over­ly complex structure lacking sufficient democratic legitima­cy. To grant citizens more influ­ence on European economic policy, it is necessary to better clarify responsibilities for Euro­pean economic governance, make it more transparent, and simplify the institutional struc­tures. The European Parliament and the Commission should have more influence on setting the policy objectives. The Europe­an and national parliaments should be more involved in the European Semester on their le­vels. Intergovernmental struc­tures outside the EU and diffe­rentiated institutions inside the EU need to be abolished.