Written by Nikos Chircop
Turnout during the 2019 European elections increased by 8%; however, the overall figure remains a meagre 50.62%. But who can blame people for resisting to elect toothless representatives?
“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”
Robert Schuman
Robert Schuman, one of the founding fathers of the post-war European Ideal clearly stated that a United Europe requires the condition of solidarity between the peoples of this continent. Evidently, I argue that with the shameful austerity imposed on the people of Greece in the early 2010s and the utter mishandling of the on-going migration crisis. Europe today is lacking in solidarity.
The EU in present times
Nowadays, the EU is engineered to care primarily for the self-interest of individual member states. In fact, both the European Council and the Council of Ministers are directly formed by the national governments. Then for the crowning cherry on the cake, you have the Commission, whose president is the result of a pan-European horse-trading saga between, surprise surprise, the national governments (RIP Spitzenkandidat)!
If the European system is so meticulously designed to be so subservient to the national governments, it should come as no surprise that the narrow individual interests of each individual member state will always have priority over timely, united European action. For how can you ever establish conditions of continental solidarity if the Union is used as a scapegoat for all that goes wrong, and concurrently a source of funding for the great projects which national leaders are more than happy to take credit for?
De facto solidarity
This is why I believe that before our European Project can be furthered in any other sphere; structural reform to shift Europa’s subservience from national governments, directly to Europeans is needed. A structured shift towards the people, through an empowering Parliament, and a reformed Commission. This is how Schuman’s “de facto solidarity” will be fostered.
The “God-given” right
Currently, the European Parliament only has the power to adopt and amend legislation, on an equal footing with the Council of Ministers, but proposing legislation seems to be the “God-given” right of the Commission. The fact that MEPs do not have the power to propose legislation is nothing less than a disgrace, and a clear signal that Brussels does not have faith in the people’s representatives to effectively legislate.
This only undermines our democratic values and surely should be on the agenda of Commission President Von der Leyen and her new Commissioner for a “European Way of Life” (whatever that means exactly): Margaritis Schinas. That being said, the Council of Ministers should be empowered to amend legislation, providing that the Parliament votes in favour of the amendment. Nonetheless, the Council should never be able to just scrap a bill. This measure alone should aid in energising the masses to vote, support, and indeed care about what is happening in their common
Should MEPs have more duties?
Parliament. They may think again for whom to vote for once realising that their candidate of choice could become directly responsible for life-changing legislation. More so, the masses will be invigorated to participate in the democratic process once they witness radical reform of the Commission.
The system of selecting the members of the EU’s executive body is, shall we say, rather unorthodox. With the individual Commissioners liberally handpicked by the national leader of each member state and the President being decided opaquely by the national leaders and only requiring the European Parliament’s rubber stamp, we can clearly see how accountable the Commission must be.
The way forward
Hence, I think that the Commission President and Commissioners should be made up of sitting MEPs from the Parliament, on the basis of them being able to command a majority of seats. Through this method, the Commission will finally become the true direct voice of Europeans and the route to change and possible integration will be clearer. A Commission of MEPs will mean that not only will the people be voting for their true legislators, but also for their executive.
The European Council, made up of the national leaders, will admittedly have diminished power in influencing the agenda of the EU’s general direction, as the Commission will no longer be responsible to them, but to the Parliament and therefore the people. There should be a new role for national leaders in this system, whereupon unanimous agreement; legislation can be proposed, amended and temporarily suspended.
In addition, the European Commission and European Council should formally assemble once a year in a “European Conference”, with the aim of the two institutions compiling a legally binding document outlining the general political direction the Union shall be striving towards in the coming year.
cover image: source
