EU Commission vice-President Sefcovic to EuroFora: Citizens Initiative to revitalize Decision making

*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- Particularly after EU Parliament adopted, today, a brand new procedure for Public Hearings by the competent Committees on EU Citizens' Initiatives, the recent entry into force of this big innovation of EU Lisbon Treaty could bring Changes able to revitalize the EU Decision making process, replied in substance EU Commission's vice-President Sefcovic to "EuroFora's questions, welcoming the move, during and after a Press Conference organized by the prestigious French High-level Civil Servants' School of State and EU Governance "ENA", together with Strasbourg University and the German Federal School on Administrative Science from nearby Karlsrhue, gathered together in a grouping for "Public Administration in Europe" (PEAP), headed by the experienced long-time Manager of several Key, Big Public and Private Entities, Dr. Weber, invited in EU Parliament by mainstream ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP Santiago Fisas Ayxelo.

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    - "EuroFora" observed that, "by a coincidence, today EU Parliament has just adopted an Essential Innovation in the New EU Mechanism of EU "Citizens' Initiative, as agreed with EU Commission, consisting in a possibility to add also a Public Hearing", of representatives of the People involved, "by an EU Parliament's Committee",  as it had been initially suggested by "EuroFora", particularly in an INTW with EU Rapporteur on Citizens' Rights, former Minister and current Budgets Commitee's Chairman, French ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP, Alain Lamassoure, and already discussed earlier with EU Commission's vice-President Maros Sefcovic himself (Comp, f.ex., our Questions and Replies received at a previous, key Press Conference : See : therelevant "EuroFora"s NewsReport : ... ). + -"Do you think that it would be useful if Top European Governance Education bodies or Universities, as f.ex. the ENA, etc. were associated, in one way or another, to these new type of Hearings, which are due to become more and more Frequent, and eventually to hold most of them during EU Parliament's Plenary sesssions in Strasbourg ?", we suggested in addition..                                                          

- "Thank you for that Question, because EU Citizens Initiatives are something New which, I believe, can bring a Civic mobilization , but also Democratic movements, while we see, around us, also what can be done by mobilizing Citizens f.ex. through Social Media and can be actively motivated by the issues of Internet Liberty", started to reply to "EuroFora"s question Sefcovic, from a wider point of view.

=> "I think that all that is a proof that EU Citizens should be included in the Debates of Important Political Decisions from the start of Negotiations, as well as that we (EU) must better Explain our Policies, not only by the classical means, but also by using f.ex. Social Media (at the Internet), etc", EU Commission's vice-President went on to add, almost endorsing a main Idea suggested many times earlier by "EuroFora".

    + "That's why I believe that EU Citizens' Initiative will Democratize the traditional way of Decision-making in Europe, and that New Level of Participative Democracy will ameliorate the way that the Representative Democracy works", he optimistically pointed out.

    => "I'm sure that, when we shall revise this new tool, in 2 or 3 Years, we shall need some Serious Studies, with profound Expertise on this issue, that f.ex. ENA, the Universites and other participants in the PEAP, as well as several other similar actors, will certainly have studied carefully", having a very useful role to play, Sefcovic positively reacted to a part of "EuroFora"s suggestion (Comp. supra).

    For the time being, "as you know, we (EU Commission) have already registed 6 or 7 such EU Citizens' Initiatives, up to now, and we have received more than 10. So, this has really started, and we shall see how it will evolve during the following years", he noted.

+ Meanwhile, "I am  glad of the Agreement that we (EU Commission) made with EU Parliament on these Hearings by MEPs, because, even if the competent EU Commissioner, or his assistants, will Receive beforehand the organizers of such EU Citizens' Initiatives, nevertheless, it is important that they can be heard also by a collective, politically pluralist body destinated to work regularly with EU Citizens as the EU Parliament, observed later-on EU Commission's vice-President Sefcovic, speaking anew to "EuroFora" after the Press Conference.
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- The Questions raised are, in susbtance, whether the way that EU Citizens' Initiatives might develop in Future, could affect the way that European Governance and public administrations, Civil Servants, etc., are actually working, observed earlier on "EuroFora"s question also PEAP's President Dr. Weber, who underlined previously the relevant fact that PEAP's object of study and research is "the Public Administration which works at the interface between Political Decisions and Citizens".

+ Meanwhile, it's significant of progressively developing EU Integration that even ENA itself is evolving into a  MultiNational, European Governance School, with French, German, Spanish and other EU Countries components, observed mainstream MEP Ayxelo of Spain.