EU Parliament's President, Buzek, to "EuroFora": - "EU needs New ways to interact with Citizens !"

  EU "needs New ways" to interact with its Citizens, by "innovation" and open, interesting debates on main issues, with "Vision", "Values" and "Solidarity", replied new EU Parliament's President, Polish ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP Jerzy Buzek, to "EuroFora"s question in the Press Conference he gave in Strasbourg after his inspired, inaugural Speech on the Priorities for the next 3 Years 2009-2011, during which he aims to revive the "European Dream".  

                                                                                                                                                                                  This need was acknowledged later by EU Commission's re-elected President, Jose Barroso, but was stronger stressed by the Chairman of the largest Group of MEPs : ChristianDemocrats/EPP, French MEP Joseph Daul, who welcomed Buzek' statements to "EuroFora", adding that EU Parliament must be "prepared" to fullfil its "Mission in the coming 5 Years : .. to bring our Citizens closer to Europe".

 

    - " Mr President, you spoke very well about "Vision", and "Solidarity" in Europe, etc, but also about Practical Measures, and you highlighted, in particular your will to bring EU closer to Citizens, including by New Technologies, that you already started to use for Commissions etc. Do you think that the possibility for Citizens, not only to know what their MEPs said in EU Parliament, but also to participate in Publc Debates on EU Parliament decisions, thanks to new technologies, might be useful, if it's done in a wise and innovative way ?", "EuroFora" asked Buzek.

 

    - "You are right, this is correct", EU Parliament's President replied to "EuroFora"'s question. - "We (EU) also need new ways of staying in touch with our citizens". "I believe that this will be extremely important", during the next "5 Years" (2009-2014), and "it will impove, in my view, also the Electoral turnout", he observed, after the 1999-2004 Majority Abstention trend, was almost stopped, but not yet reversed in June 2009.

    -  But "we are in a Crisis, and we need to be Innovative" :  "I spoke about the state of the art (new) Technologies because we neerd them in order to overcome the (double) Crisis" : Both in Economy and in "our Citizens' trust", as he had said earlier. Thus, f.ex. "we have already introduced Internet streaming on the discussions of EU Parliament Commissions : There will be on-line transmissions of the Debates of 12 EP Committees", so that "our citizens, both in Europe, and those abroad, will be able to follow these discussions". In fact, "tt's today that we really need the idea of "Lisbon strategy" (on Innovation-driven Society), which seems to be slightly forgotten", added Buzek, who was also EU Parliament's Rapporteur on the current Science, Research and Technology framework program (2009-2014).

    Meanwhile, EU "Parliament's reform", boosted by the expected entry into force of "Lisbon Treaty", will aim "to promote a true European Demos", promissed Buzek, in relation with "EuroFora"s question (See supra) : "To bring the European Citizens closer to EU Institutions", "we should also look at the way that EU Elections are organized : Citizens should know for whom they are voting for, not only in their own Country, but also vis-a-vis the entire EU too, he added

     - "It's true that there is a Problem to solve", on EU's distance vis a vis Citizens, acknowledged later also the re-elected EU Commission's President, Jose Barroso, on the job since 2004, speaking to Journalists in Strasbourg, including "EuroFora".

     - "If the European Parliament has a role to play and a mission to accomplish in the coming 5 years, it is to bring our Citizens closer to Europe", stressed shortly afterwards, welcoming Buzek's statements to "EuroFora", the President of EU Parliament's largest Group : ChristianDemocrats/EPP, French MEP Joseph Daul.

    - "We must prepare ourselves politically. "Our objective is clear: that the Parliament be more in line with the 500 million Citizens it represents", he added

    - "What better asset to have in this mission than a President (Buzek) symbolic of the reunited Europe which embodies openness and respect for the opinions and origins of others, and not intolerance and exclusion ? I want the European Parliament to share these Values.", Daul concluded.

     -  "Vision" for Europe, "Solidarity" which makes us all feel inside "our, United Europe", with "Ambition" and "Innovation", together with "Human Rights' Values", at the "Democratic Heart" of Europe : EU Parliament, resolved to make People "dream" of Europe and their dreams become true : These are some examples of Buzek speech's vocabulary.

    - "Words can work Miracles, and words can lead to facts", replied Buzek to a Polish lady journalist close to "EuroFora" who had asked him if he was just a "symbol" of EU Unity while, in fact, some wanted to reduce cohesion and agricultural funds soon."There are very deep divisions in the EU", he acknowledged in reply, concerning EU's need to boost its Cohesion policy in order to become a more integrated area and boost EU Citizens' common feelings of belonging to "one Europe, our Europe".  A challenge on which, even IMF"s Experts had already warned, from the point of view of Economic development and performance at a medium-long term, on the sidelines of European Central Bank's 10th Anniversary Summit, as early as since 2007, at nearby Frankfurt...

    Buzek's ambition is to bridge in Future 2 Gaps of the recent Past : Between EU institutions and Citizens, as well as between Western and Eastern EU Member States, while also overcoming the current Economic Crisis, and preparing to tackle the issue of Energy security of suppies, Climate Change, etc.        

    Reviving the "European Dream" for EU Citizens goes hand by hand with the "Dream for the Unity of our Continent", that the very election of the Polish politician and Scientist moved by Moral Values symbolizes : "There is no longer an 'old and new Europe'. This is our common Europe", Buzek stressed.

    But, marking also the continuity of EU's History, Buzek invited all living former EU Parliament's Presidents : German Christian Democrats/EPP Egon Klepsch and Hans Gert Poettering, as well as Socialist Klaus Hansch,  Spanish Socialists Baron Crespo and Josep Borrell, as well as ChristianDemocrat/EPP Gil Robles,  French EPP Nicole Fontaine , Irish Liberal Pat Cox, etc.; with whom "EuroFora" worked together during more than 18 Years at the European Press sector.

    In the short term, EU Parliament will mainly have to prepare Institutional changes if Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all, and Europe's stance in the World Summits against the Economic Crisis and on Climate, at Copenhagen, December 2009.

    But Buzek will stay in office at least until December 1011, i.e. also during the forthcoming Polish EU Council presidency, (July - December 2011).

    This should give him enough Time to complete the struggle against the Crisis and the return to Growth, while also preparing Security of Energy supplies, and a "Green Revolution", as he said. But also to sefeguard "Cohesion policy.. in the New Financial Perspectives, if we want to achieve the full Integration of our reunited continent", since "without Solidarity, there is no true European Community". As well as to meet the "challenge of Human Rights and Values", on whose "respect" the "EU is based", both internally and at its "Foreign Policy", where "we need more Europe at a Global stage", to "continue working on Enlargement" in order to "bring closer to the EU" key-countries, develop strategic "Partnerships","promote Democracy and Good Governance", and "strengthen the European Security and Defence policy".