Question time

The debates which will be broadcast across Europe via the internet and satellite will cover questions that have been collated by the European Movement from citizens across the EU. As a taster to the debates, the Parliament Magazine asked two of the panellists, MEPs Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Graham Watson to answer a few questions that have been submitted to the European Movement.

European elections
We have European political parties. We have a statute for them, so that at least some financial independence is guaranteed from their national parties. Yet, what is missing? European elections! Now, how to change the situation? Three ideas seem reasonable: Have common campaigns and a more visible face of the European parties; parties should nominate who is running as Commission president for their party family; Years ago, there was the idea of having some MEPs elected by a European list, separate from the national one. Question submitted by Yvonne Nasshoven.

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
We need stronger and more visible European political parties. The EU is the fourth house of our democracies: we have local, regional, national and European democratic houses. Political parties are well established in the first three but are only just emerging at European level. But things are changing. In the 2009 European elections the Party of European Socialists will be very visible in some member states. See our manifesto consultation http://manifesto2009.pes.org/en. The PES is growing – but we cannot succeed separately from the national organizations. It takes time to get it right and build confidence.

Graham Watson
I have a lot of sympathy with many of the options suggested. Parliament has discussed these and others on a number of occasions. At present, my colleague Andrew Duff is drafting a report a uniform electoral procedure for European elections which addresses the many differences between member states - the date on which elections are held, the age and eligibility of candidates and the question of who is entitled to vote. Furthermore, now that a European Party Statute exists it is quite likely that there will be a greater attempt to coordinate campaigning and political messages across the EU. We remain however, far from a single European polity. There is little identification yet across the union with European political parties. This has to be addressed.

One President of the EU
Henry Kissinger famously asked “Who do I call if I want to call Europe?” This is the idea about how to answer that question. With the Treaty of Lisbon to be ratified by 2009 it would be possible for there to be one person to call - the same person as president of the commission and president of the European council. Question submitted by Jon Worth

Graham Watson
The idea of one president representing the Union looks appealing at first sight and it would make life easier for someone like Kissinger. The Lisbon Treaty though is a compromise, not a federal blueprint. The EU has three major institutions. It thus chooses a president of the EU executive responsible for drafting and enforcing legislation, a president of the European parliament representing the views of citizens through their elected representatives and a president-in-office of the council. The first serves a five year term, the second two and a half years and the third currently changes every six months. The Lisbon Treaty aims simply to make this latter position more stable and add continuity to the strategic direction of the EU at ministerial level. The post does not represent the people of Europe but rather the member state governments.

Creation of a European Reconciliation Council
Should there be a European reconciliation council to reinforce the EU’s promotion of peace in the world? Question submitted by Isabel Aspe-Montoya.

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
I agree that EU integration is a good and successful model for achieving regional peace, democracy and prosperity. I think the EU must develop its common foreign and security policy to engage much more actively in peace-keeping and conflict resolution in the world. I think a ‘European reconciliation council’ is an original and worthwhile idea. It is important for citizens, including prominent personalities, to put pressure on the EU to act to prevent conflicts or broker peace agreements, and to show their support – and help empower - citizens living in zones of conflict.

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