EU must regain citizens' trust says former parliament president

EU citizens are more interested in what Europe can do for them rather than the intricacies of how it works, according to former MEP Pat Cox.

Ahead of the upcoming key EU summit on the stalled constitution, this is the conclusion of an extensive public consultation exercise as part of the European commission’s Plan D strategy.

Speaking at Tuesday’s launch of consultation’s findings, Pat Cox, a former parliament president, used a motoring metaphor to sum up public opinion on the protracted debate over a European constitution.

"People are not especially interested in the car engine but, rather, are more focused on its ability to travel to the desired policy destinations," he said.

"In short, they are results and not process oriented."

Cox, along with German Socialist MEP Jo Leinen, was speaking at a press conference in the parliament on the results of a wide-ranging project designed to learn how ordinary people view the EU’s future.

Coordinated by the European Movement International (EMI), it is one of six similar projects financed by the Plan D campaign.

A series of grass-roots debates, consultations, polls and events aimed at consulting citizens were conducted over the past few months.

The exercise will conclude with the first-ever trans-national poll in the autumn, probably in the midst of an intergovernmental conference on a new treaty.

Cox, president of EMI, said citizens had shown a "clear appetite" for more direct dialogue with decision-makers.

"Political leaders need to regain citizens´ trust and confidence in the European project," said Cox.

Leinen, meanwhile, called on EU heads of state attending the 21-22 June summit in Brussels to avoid a "low-level" compromise that would "significantly" dilute the existing constitutional text.

"What the summit must do is to refuel and not dilute the EU’s prospects," said Leinen, chair of parliament’s constitutional affairs committee.

Commission vice-president Margot Wallström, who has overseen the Plan D campaign and also spoke at the conference, welcomed the outcome of the EMI consultation but said it was too early to draw any final conclusions.

However, she revealed that the commission was already giving serious consideration to conducting citizen impact assessments across a whole range of EU policies on a systematic basis.

The commission will also organise a ´citizen's summit´, probably during the upcoming Portuguese presidency, she said.

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