

EU Rapporteur Bresso+Top MEP Brok to EF: EUParliament tackles Commission+Council. =>Citizens' role ?

*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- Various unprecedented, big Political Power Games are deploying in full, in the run up to May 2019 European Election, and one of them unfolds between EU Parliament and EU Commission+Council, where EU Citizens could play a Key Role, as it results from the Replies given to a relevant "Eurofora"s Question by EU Rapporteur on Lisbon "Treaty provisions"' about MEPs' "Power of Political Control over EU Commission", Mercedes Bresso, vice-President of the Socialdemocrat Group, from Italy, and Experienced Top German ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP Elmar Brok from Germany, (also Shadow Rapporteur here).
=> In fact, EU Parliament wants Commission + Council to Change the way they work, after 2019 Elections, and this is Related also with EU Citizens' potential role in the foreseable Future, particularly considering relevant Parallel Developments, (See Infra).
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- During the Press Conference which followed the Adoption of that Report with a very Strong Majority of 494 Votes in favour,
"Eurofora" raised a Question on "EU Parliament's role in the European Decision-Making process, After the May 2019 Elections", observing the Fact that, already, "at the Last Plenary Session, on January 2019", another Report made "a similar Criticism, as well as Proposals, concerning the EU Council" (Comp: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/euparliamentonombudsmanandeurofora.html, etc), and "Now, you go after EU Commission".
=> - "What will come Next ?", particularly concerning also EU "Citizens' (possible) role" in the foreseable Future, we asked.
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- EU Parliament Rapporteur's reply to "Eurofora"'s Question, went straight to the main point : - "It's for (EU) Citizens to Raise Questions on the Issues that they wish, and for us (MEPs) to Reply", she stressed.
- Today, "We have adopted a Report on (EU) Citizens' Initiative, which aims to Ameliorate the situation, in relation to the question that You raised", replied vice-President Bresso to "Eurofora", pointing also at a recent (2017-2018) effort to Facilitate the launching of new European Citizens' Initiative.
+ And in this Report (of 2019), we insist that the Political Control (Monitoring) on the (EU) Executive must become Stronger, particularly by allowing to EU Parliament to augment Transparency, as Citizens want to know what is going on inside EU Institutions and Parliament", she added.
+ Now, "the Issue that You ("Eurofora") raised is Important", and "I think that it's related to the SpitzenKandidaten process": EU "Citizens should know that by Voting for a Party, this can lead to his appointment of a Candidate (at EU Commission's Head) in order to implement a certain Policy. This makes more interesting the various Programs proposed by each Party".
- But, "Institutions canNot substitute themselves to (EU) Citizens" : In fact, "It's up to EU Citizens to Raise the Issues that interest them, and, afterwards, we (EU Politicians) can search to find Solutions", she suggested. Thus, "one of the most Frequent Questions raised by EU Citizens, when we meet with them, is why EU Parliament does not have a possibility of Legislative Initiative", Mercedes Bresso regretted.
=> Therefore, one can easily imagine, that EU Citizens might, eventually, Cooperate with EU Parliament, in the foreseable Future, in order to boost, helping eachother, a kind of Legislative Initiative, by joining forces Together...
F.ex. MEPs would Agree with EU Citizens which Measures should be prepared by the EU, so that the latter would present them as an European Citizens' "Initiative", while EU Parliament could also Monitor EU Commission's Response to such a MEPs-Backed EU Citizens Initiative, so that it will be taken seriously into consideration, and enacted in form of a new Legislative proposal.
Naturally, if EU Parliament, meanwhile, accepted also "Eurofora"s main Project, about EU Citizens' Debates with MEPs before taking Decisions affecting those People's Lives and/or Society at lage, this would broker an interesting Alliance boosting both EU Parliament's Democratic Legitimacy and practical Influence in EU's Decision-Making (Comp. Supra).
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+ Moreover, Pointing at the Other Issue raised by "Eurofora"s Question, i.e. on EU Council, (Comp. Supra + http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/euparliamentonombudsmanandeurofora.html, etc ), experienced Top Christiandemocrat/EPP MEP Elmar Brok from Germany, observed, immediately Afterwards:
- "We (EU Parliament) Asked for a Genuine 2 Chambers' System. In fact, already the (EU) Council is a Legislative body, and, therefore, it should hold its meetings in Public, with Transparency so that EU Citizens would know how its Decisions are taken, and Who is Responsible for what".
=> So, it's for the (EU) Council to Change its Procedures, it should Change the way it works". This is absolutely Essential !" Otherwise, some Basic "Constitutional Principles are flauted in EU Institutions", he Criticized.
+ Also, Brok went on to add, vis a vis EU Commission : - "Compared to National Parliaments, there are some Differences with EU Parliament : F.ex. in the way that various EU Commissioners are Elected : We (MEPs) have More Powers on the Appointment of EU Commissioners than the National Parliaments have (with Ministers). Thus, f.ex., we can exert Pressure on EU Commission's President about the choices of individual Commissioners, while the same is not possible f.ex. in Germany or the UK, where National Parliaments simply vote for a Prime Minister, who chooses afterwards his/her Government.
- Moreover, there are various "Views on whether we (MEPs) could oblige, or not, a Commissioner to Resign, afterwards", (etc).
- So, "We are currently discussing and Reflecting on these (open) Questions", he Warned for the foreseable Future, as far as MEP's Political Control is concerned.
(../..)
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Former "Green-Red" German government's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's job at the controversial Turkish pipeline "Nabucco" was denounced as "not proper", "very bad", and "incompatible with Democracy", by the new President of EU Parliament's EuroLeft Group, German Lothar Bisky, replying to an "EuroFora" question.
For once, criticism of Joschka Fischer's doings with Turkey affecting Europe, didn't come only from the Center-Right of the political spectrum, but even from his Left side : The experienced Bisky, who has been chairing all over 1993-2009 the PDS - Die Linke party :
- "Former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer got involved in dealings with oil-gaz business in a foreign country, Turkey, and its controversial Nabucco pipeline. This raises questions about Democracy, also because of the well known problems of Human Rights violations in that country. Do you thing that this might be abused in order to cover up and close EU's eyes on Human Rights violations ?", "EuroFora" asked Bisky.

- "Nabucco pipeline is (only) at the planning stage". And "there are some difficulties", he observed from the start. But "'I don't want to get into the details of Nabucco pipeline, because I don't think that there is any point for it at the moment".
At any case, "we (EU Parliament's EuroLeft Group) strongly believe that Politicians should not get involved in the Energy Business, and all these commercial transactions", President Bisky declared on the Joschka Fiischer's affair.
- "We feel that it's something that shouldn't be done. It's not proper !"
- "We don't think that it's compatible with Democracy either, and it gets politics into a very Bad track", Bisky went on to denounce.
- "EuroLeft and "Die Linke" always spoke against that, saying that politicians should not get directly into the arms of private enterprises"
- "It is pretty bad if a former Minister takes a job f.ex. in a major Energy producer. So, it's an issue if a Minister who may have seen excellent opportunities, subsequently gets personally grasp of them, in very serious parts of the economy, once he has given up his (Government) job."
- "It doesn't really make politics in general look any better'", Bisky concluded.

Earlier, this week in Strasbourg, other Journalists had also raised critical questions on former Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's involvement in the conroversial Turkish Nabucco pipeline to the President of his own EuroParty : Kohn-Bendit of the "Greens", who, contrary to Bisky, tried to find excuses for Fischer, while criticizing his long-time partner, Schroeder for having done a similar move :
- "Shroeder was chancellor", and he "negociated" with "Russians", who gave him a job only "3 Months" after he resigned from the Government. While "Joschka Fischer", on the contrary, got a job with the controversial Turkish Nabucco pipeline only "4 Years after" he left the Government. "He didn't negociate Nabucco", so I have "no objection", Kohn Bendit claimed.
But, many Facts indicate the contrary :
Joschka Fischer was Foreign Minister in Germany from 1999 up to 2005 : I.e. from the year that EU took the controversial decision to give Turkey a "Candidate" status, until he year it started controversial "accession negotiations, (later declared "open-ended" after Sarkozy-Merkel's arrival from 2005-2007).
During that period was prepared the controversial so-called "Annan" Plan (in fact, drafted by others and attributed afterwards to the former UN SG) on Cyprus, which failed after a Popular Referendum said "No" on 2004 with a large Majoriy of 3/4 : 75%. Mainly because it was criticized for making too much concessions to the Turkish side : Particularly by restricting Greek Cypriot Refugees' Human Right to return to their ancestral Land and/or get restitution of their Familiy Homes and private properties, usurpated by Ankara's Army since the 1974 militay invasion and continuing occupation of the northern part of Cyprus. And by weakening the Central Government, leaving to 2 "constituent States" so much powers and separate interests that more conflicts appeared inevitable, provoking the danger of a break-down in the foreseable future, with more crisis, troubles, perhaps bloodshed, etc., instead of creating an harmoniously integrated, really one federal State.
The controversial Plan was finalized on March-April 2004 at Burgenstock (Switzerland), curiously in the presence of an Envoy by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, then governed by Joschka Fischer, but in the absence of a French and not even an European Union's Envoy, contrary to what was usually practiced on similar occasions in Switzerland (fex. in 1997 at Montreux, in 2000 at Geneva, etc).
Turkey notoriously exploited the failure of the "Annan" Plan in order to convince the EU to decide to start accession Negotiations on December 2004. This provoked an unprecedented series of Institutional Crisis inside the EU, shortly afterwards, when French and Dutch People rejected, 2 popular EuroReferenda by a majority "'No" vote to the EU Constitutional Treaty on 2005, aggraveted in 2004 a Majority Abstention to EU Elections, etc., followed by the recent Irish "No", etc.
"Nabucco" Gas pipeline was notoriously planned since ..2002. It follows an even earlier idea, for an Oil pipeline Baku-Ceyhun, which started to be prepared on 1999-2001 and was meanwhile recently completed.
So, facts indicate that what is now at stake is based on decisions made during Joschka Fischer's term as former Foreign Minister, closely interested in Turkey's controversial EU-bid.
To the point that he now practically ...switched jobs with a poliician from Turkey, (the State which pays today openly Joschka Fischer), Mr. Ozdemir, who came earlier in Germany, got fast the nationality, and became EiuroMP in a few years, continuing now as head of the "Greens" in Germany, i.e. in Joschka's former job !...
Such astonishing facts risk, unfotunately, to give to German politician Lothar Bisky's criticism of representative Democracy a topical meaning :
- "We (EuroLeft Group) think that what is really at stake is Democracy. It's not only about Gas Pipelines or Energy sources", President Lothar Bisky went on to add in his reply to "EuroFora"'s question on Joscka Fischer's personal interests in the controversial Turkish "Nabuco" pipeline.
Such facts, "make People get more distance from Politics. ...People had had enough, and they are fed up !".
- "That's why we (EuroParliament's "EuroLeft" Group) want to strengthen Direct Democracy in Europe. Citizens should be involved in the (EU) Decision-making. In the end of the day, it's not going to help anyone if Politicians are always taking decisions, without involving Citizens. We want to give a voice to the People of Europe. They've got to have their say in the decisions that are taken. That's one of our absolutely fixed and steadfast views. We want more Direct Democracy in Europe. That's how it can become more effective and stronger", he concluded.
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