EU Parliament Press Director Duch to EuroFora on Political Union +Citizens: Key = Democratic control

 
*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- Topical Debates and Decisions on a currently needed EU Political Union, which should stand closer to EU Citizens, and be open to Democratic control, mainly by EU Parliament, are due to dominate EU's Agenda not just this week, but also during the forthcoming Months, replied EU Parliament's Spokesman and Press Director, Jaume Duch, to an  "EuroFora"s Question, shortly after a relevant call launched last week in Strasbourg by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, echoed also by the largest Political Group of MEPs, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP at a Conference in Florence, Italy, and expected to be discussed on Wednesday in a landmark Debate on "the State of the Union" by MEPs, who have just adopted a Resolution asking for a projected European "Banking Union", as well as "all" other EU activities, to have "Democratic Legitimacy" f.ex. "by involving EU Parliament as co-Legislator", and with "Question, Appointment and Budgetary" Rights, as they stressed, while 3 Foreign Ministers are also due to start discussing with MEPs' Leadership various Drafts on EU's Future, (even if, for the time being,  such a special encounter is the only one to be exceptionaly scheduled behind Closed Doors)...

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 - "As you know very well, there are many EU Personalities, including German Finance Minister Schauble (last week in Strasbourg : See relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReport at : ... ) and others, that have recently called for a kind of (European) Political Union to advance closer to (EU) Citizens, with a more Important role for EU Parliament", "EuroFora" observed from the outset, during EU Parliament's Press Briefing.

=> - "Do you think that this could be an important aspect of Wednesday's (main) debats" (on the"State of the Union"), at EU Parliament's Plenary session, this week in Strasbourg,  "and/or of others" MEP's discussions and/or votes, due  to come in the foreseeable Future ?, we asked EU Parliament's Spokesman.

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- "I think that, during Wednesday Morning's Debates you will hear many references to "Democratic Monitoring", ("Control"), and about the Quality of Democracy inside the European Union", the experienced EU Parliament's Press Director replied from the outset to "EuroFora"s Question.

- "I.e., there are currently many Documents, here or there, both at the Right and at the Left (of the political spectrum), about a Political Union, for a Real Political Union", Duch observed.

>>> - "But, all these Documents don't take always sufficiently into account the fact that, any Political Union will never be really Popular, would never be really accepted by (EU) Citizens, if it's not completely Democratic", EU Parliament's Spokesman warned.

- " I.e., more Soveraignity transferts would take place towards Brussels and/or Strasbourg, more Democratic Control should be organized, mainly via EU Parliament".

- "Thus, I think that this will be a Message due to be given" during the forthcoming EU Parliament Debates, "because, when one hears what (EU) Citizens have to say, many of whom are notoriously taking Distances vis a vis the idea, or rather the way according to which  the European Idea is set up, this is very much related to the fact the EU Citizens don't really feel to be fully represented", the experienced EU Top Official rightfully denounced.

- "This issue would undoubtedly be found in Wednesday' morning's EU Parliament's Debates", Duch confirmed for the moment.

+ => - "But,  I also think that we are going to find it anew, during the forthcoming Months, in almost all Constitutional Debates inside EU Parliament !", the experienced EP's Press Director concluded in reply to "EuroFora"s Question, in a way which obviously evokes a real political will from MEPs to open New Horizons for EU's Future.
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    - Already, this Week is due to be dominated by the Debate on the State of the Union, with EU Commission's President, Barroso, and EU Council, in the presence of all EU Commissioners, focused on what is currently under Preparation, during all this (2012) Summer's Political and Economic Developments, and on what has been decided in order to tackle Growth, as well as the MultiAnnual Financial Perspectives, the necessary Means in order to be able to carry out EU's new competences, and, most of all, there wil be a First Debate on the forthcoming Banking Union, followed immediately afterwords by a specific one, EU Parliament's Spokesman earlier anounced.

    This is due to be a kind of ..."Super Wednesday", on EU's Future,  because, in addition to the landmark EU Parliament's Plenary Debate on the "State of the Union", it will be also the Day of Dutch Elections, with a particularly pronounced European dimension, as i'ts also the case, more and more frequently, in most other National Elections, which start to become somehow similar to EU primary or partial Elections, something which could be a Logical development, Duch observed.

    + But, this Wednesday will also be the Day for the German Constitutional Court's judgement", at nearby Karlsruhe, on €uroArea's New Treaty, alias the "Fiscal Pact", another important issue, and it will be also the Day on which will be presented a Legislative package on Banks' Reform", he added earlier.
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+ Moreover, 1 Day Earlier, on Tuesday afternoon, EU Parliament's Political Groups' Presidents will debate, behind Closed Doors, on a Document that several Foreign Ministers prepared, "in a more or less informal way, on EU's Future", and this discussion is due to take place in the presence of 3 Foreign Ministers who have been Invited" by MEPs : - "Mr. Westerwelle of Germany, Reynders of Belgium, and Garcia Margalo of Spain" (a long time former MEP), starting on 5 p.m, as he anounced earlier, (but making it clear, in reply to another Journalists' question, that this exceptional meeting between Top MEPs and Ministers would be held "in camera")..

 By the way, "EU Future" debate also was a promise made by Barroso to former French President Sarkozy back on August 2007, in order to abstain, in exchange, from entirely blocking Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid, as a wide Majority of Voters had wished in the May - July 2007 Elections in France, (later confirmed also by a relevant Majority in Germany and various other EU Countries), but this resulted only into a contested Report drafted in 2010 by an Experts' Committee directed by a strange universitarian named ... "Dr. Turk", nonobstanding the fact that all these efforts had been done precisely in order to put between brackets Ankara's controversial EU bid : Exactly what EU Parliament is also due to examine this week, in a Report on EU's Foreign Policy where a Turkish lobby wants to insert a menion of Ankara's EU claims)...  

+ Meanwhile, later this Monday Evening, EU Parliament's Economic and Monetary affairs Committee, surprisingly Voted a last-minute Amendment "Urging Political Leaders to encourage Democratic Legitimacy in All EU affairs", without any exception, from now on.

Moreover, it's only a Narrow Difference, of just 20 votes for, 22 against, which droped, at least for the moment, another Amendment, which made it clear that such a "Democratic Legitimacy" required also "Open Debates, at both National and EU levels", (i.e. in particular with the participation of both National and of the European MPs).

Such MEPs' moves were made on the occasion of the Adoption, with a Strong Majority of 33 Votes in favour, against only 7, and 2 Abstentions, of a Resolution drafted by the experienced President of EU Parliament's Economic and Monetary affairs Committee, Liberal Brittish MEP Mrs Sharon Bowles, from the Governing Coalition, which clearly "stressed the Need to enhance Democratic Legitimacy, with regard to to the proposed Banking Union", (perhaps the most Important Decision taken at the latest, June 2012 EU Summit in Brussels, in order to definitively overcome all Financial Crisis' problems for ever).

This must be done "by fully involving  the European Parliament as Co-Legislator", MEPs stressed, f.ex. in the "Single Supervisory Mechanism" scheduled for ECB's Future Monitoring on National Banks which may receive EU help. 

+ "Any major Change", f.ex. "shifts to other institutions", etc., "has to be accompah,ied by an equivalent Increase in Transparency and Accountability of such Institutions, towards EU Parliament, including Rights of full Question, Appointment and Budgetary procedures", the adopted Resolution adds.