By Martha Moss - 6th March 2009
I hope that the EU will foster the idea to decentralise and go for a bottom-up approach, he said. It would be good for people to see that Europe is not just in Brussels but that it involves the regions too
Jo Leinen
Prague: Senior German socialist MEP Jo Leinen has called for European unity to mobilise voters ahead of June's parliament elections.
Leinen, chair of the European parliament's constitutional affairs committee, was speaking at the Prague summit of regions and cities on Friday, where regional representatives have been debating ways to reverse the decline in voter turnout for EU elections.
He told this website that citizens "are observing how Europe behaves - whether we are able to speak with one voice, whether we have solidarity between the new countries and the old countries, between the rich and the poor".
"If they have the feeling that Europe is something good they are more likely to participate in the elections," he said.
"At a local level, there is of course the duty to inform voters that the elections will happen in June and somehow to get people involved and go out and participate."
Europe's regions are according to Leinen, in a unique position to highlight the need for cooperation at local, national and European level in tackling domestic and international challenges.
"Brussels is by nature further away from citizens than local town halls or regional government, so there is always extra effort necessary to inform people," he added.
"We also need to convince people that in the 21st century, European nation states are too small to challenge the big problems and only together are we strong.
"Whether it is fighting terrorism, whether it is the fight against climate change or whether it is overcoming the financial and economic crisis. Only together are we able to solve problems, and that is the message we have to tell the people."
Leinen called on the European parliament and commission to involve local and regional bodies in tackling the economic crisis.
Arguing that local and regional organisations are "so important for citizens in their daily lives", he said, "If in this economic crisis these local levels are suffering, then the people are suffering.
"So the EU should make an effort to help the local and regional bodies to improve and to do their job."
Leinen also spoke of the need to increase investment to keep small and medium sized businesses afloat and to protect people's jobs.
Environmental modernisation, investments in energy savings and renewables and innovation in education could help tackle the downturn, he said, adding, "The crisis could be a chance for Europe to become stronger."
Speaking at an earlier debate on the role of the regions in Europe's economic recovery, Leinen called for a decentralisation of power from Brussels.
"I hope that the EU will foster the idea to decentralise and go for a bottom-up approach," he said. "It would be good for people to see that Europe is not just in Brussels but that it involves the regions too.
"The crisis will be very much to the fore in the elections. People will be looking to see whether Europe will speak with one voice.
"We are going to see more populism in the 2009 elections than we did in 2004 and people with good intentions have to get through to voters to show that there is hope for constructive forces in Europe, not just destructive forces."
