

EU Parliament President Schulz to EuroFora:Democratic Legitimacy needs boost.Hope on Cyprus EU chair
*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- EU Parliament's President, experienced German MEP Martin Schultz, speaking to "EuroFora", agreed with EU President Van Rompuy's statement, earlier in EU Parliament's plenary in Strasbourg, on the need to strengthen EU's Democratic Legitimacy, and expressed the hope that this will start to become feasible, also with an enhanced EU Parliament's role in EU decision-making, thanks to an expected contribution already from the incoming Cyprus' rotating EU Chairmanship, which has just been taken over by President Christofias, who is in Strasbourg for 2 Days, and will speak at the Plenary tomorrow.

- "EuroFora" asked Schultz if he believes, as EU President Van Rompuy has just said here to MEPs, that the necessary "Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union", (for which he will present a 2nd Report for the October EU Summit) makes it "important" to "Strengthen at the same time the Democratic Legitimacy and Accountability of Decision-making within the EMU", and whether MEPs' quasi-Unanimous demand at least for EU Parliament's President to be fully participating, at en equal level with ECB's President (since the December 2011 EU Summit : Comp. "EuroFora"s NewsReports from that crucial Brussels' Summit), as well as with a generaly enhanced role for EU Parliament, MEP's and EU Citizens throughout EU's Political Decision making.

- Schulz replied with a crystal clear, double - "Yes ! Yes !" from the outset to "EuroFora"s query on the need to enhance EU Parliament's role for a better EU's Legitimacy, particularly in the current prospect of "Deepening" towards a Political Union, both with his own, personal full participation throughout EU Summits, as well as otherwise, in the everyday Decision-making work of MEPs.
- "I think that the Role of the (EU) Parliament should be Strengthened", Schlutz added.,
+ "And it's absolutery clear that, during the (incoming, July - December 2012) Cyprus' presidency of the EU, I Hope that we can Achieve More, in terms of Cooperation between (EU) Parliament and the (EU) Council of Ministers", MEPs' Head went on to say to "EuroFora".
- Because, "We (EU) have Troubled Times (in the middle of the Global Crisis) and we Need Close Cooperation between the Council and the Parliament", its President explained.
=> - "In this regard, Cyprus"' President Christofias and Myself, we have agreed to Solve some Problems", of this sortrn, during thi Semester of the rotating Cyprus' EU Council Chairmanship, EU Parliament's President concluded in rteply to "EuroFora"s question, but witghout going yet into concrete details, at least at this stage..
Topicaly, Schutz said that to "EuroFora" just after a "Hot" Debate in the Plenary and at a subsequent Press Conference, both on already denounced attempts, shortly before the conclusion of the out-going Danish EU rotating chairmanship, to Exclude EU Parliament from the Co-Decision process in the Shengen area of obvious importance for EU Citizens, and for the persisting inequality between the Presidents of ECB and EU Parliament in their Full or Partial participation in EU Summits, respectively, (Comp. supra), which has been strinly denounced, recently in Strasbourg, also by the President of EU Parliament's biggest Political Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Joseph Daul of Germany, (who has just met personaly with German Chancellor Angie Merkel in Berlin, yesterday morning).
+ Meanwhile, Cyprus Government Spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou, who accompagnies President Christofiaa to the meetings scheduled later today with EU Commission's and EU Parliament's Presidents Barroso and Schulz, replying to a "EuroFora" question on the incoming Cyprus' EU rotating Chairmanship for the crucial period of July - December 2012 regarding in particular the relations between MEPs and Governments, (Comp. Supra), positively promised that "We (Cyprus' EU Chairmanship) shall try to help", as he said, agreeing also that this point should be discussed with Christofias himself.
***
("DraftNews", already sent earlier to "EuroFora"s Subscribers/Donors. A more accurate and Full, Final Version may come asap).
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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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