Further Reading
- "On the basis of the creation of the different treaties, member states are not ready to give up education, culture or social security"
- "I think we need new standards to ensure that a worker coming from a neighbouring country should not be forced to have low pay"
By Martha Moss - 12th May 2009
The EU must accept that member states are not ready to give up control of health, education or welfare policy, EPP president Wilfried Martens has said.
Speaking at the European citizens' summit on Monday alongside the leaders of the other main pan-European parties, Martens said he would consider taking on board the recommendations put forward by members of the public.
More than 1500 citizens across all 27 member states helped come up with the proposals calling for the EU to do more to tackle global warming, develop a common healthcare system and ensure harmonised labour standards.
Of the 15 recommendations, six related to social political issues, four to the economy, two to sustainability, two to justice and home affairs and one on ethics and politics.
Some 150 citizens were selected to attend the Brussels summit, where they presented the recommendations to policymakers.
Proposals included measures to harmonise education, increase public transparency and accountability, create a common social welfare system and ban reform agriculture policy - including introducing a ban on GMOs.
They also called for the post of ethics commissioner or integrity ombudsman to be created to oversee lobbying practices and wanted to see a central control agency established to strengthen consumer protection policies.
Martens said he would take those relating to climate change, agriculture, transparency, regulation and immigration into account as EU competencies, but he insisted that the rest would need to be considered as competencies of member states.
"On the basis of the creation of the different treaties, member states are not ready to give up education, culture or social security," he said, adding that it was still possible to create a "more social route for Europe" within the existing competencies.
With unemployment expected to hit 27 million "unless we do something more", PES president Poul Nyrup Rasmussen challenged the EPP over German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy's comments that little could be done about the rising jobless figure.
The most important recommendations for Rasmussen were those relating to climate change and social reform. "I think we need new standards to ensure that a worker coming from a neighbouring country should not be forced to have low pay," he said.
Rasmussen backed calls to introduce common criteria for all educational levels recognised in member states, and welcomed proposals to increase the accountability of politicians.
He told delegates that the recommendations highlighted that people want to see a new direction for Europe. "You want a Europe dealing with people and you want Europe dealing with the climate and green recovery," he said.
"This is the most important signal you can send because this global economic crisis is so fundamental that we need to remember that this Europe is not only about money and single markets and competition, this Europe is also about people. People first, that is our claim for this campaign."
For the ELDR, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck said she found the recommendations "extremely interesting, extremely challenging and a little bit distressing" because of a lack of "audacity and hope".
Her party and member parties would be examining the recommendations, she said, pointing out that ELDR priorities were civil liberties, the need to keep markets open, tackling climate change and the role of EU in the world."
Philippe Lamberts, European Green Party president, said he was "delighted because I listen to you and I see hope and I also see a vision".
His party agreed with 13 of the 15 recommendations, he said, although he urged caution on proposals to deal with illegal immigration and homeland security. "On the vast majority of them we are on the same tune," he said.
Crisis
Speaking at the same event, commission president José Manuel Barroso said Europe should focus on tackling unemployment and responding to the financial crisis.
"We are asking for more attention to the social," he said. "That's why we are doing everything we can to work with member states to respond to the economic and social crisis.
"The first concern of the leaders of Europe should be unemployment. We cannot build economic growth in Europe over social collapse."
Barroso spoke of the need to keep markets open and ensure social cohesion. He added, "This is what we are for - a social market economy. An economy that wants to be open but has high social standards."
Asked by a Spanish delegate what the EU was doing on immigration, Barroso said it was important to recognise its benefits but ensure strict border controls.
"We have to take our responsibility seriously and this means if we open our borders then our external borders must be very secure," he said.
"We need to be able to welcome them in a humane manner… We need them for workforce and have to help the countries of origin."
Parliament president Hans-Gert Pöttering said it would be difficult to harmonise education on a European level because it is a priority across member states.
On ethics in politics, he said MEPs were already required to declare income outside of their normal salary. "I think this is quite transparent," he argued.
He also described the statute giving members the same salaries and travel entitlements as a "great achievement".
Pöttering said that openness and declarations in lobbying were important.
"But I want to make clear that in a free society lobbyism is nothing wrong because they are representatives of society," he added.
"It's important to know for whom they are working and it's important that you know whether MEPs get money from them."
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