EUROPEAN ELECTION : OPEN ISSUES

EUROPEAN ELECTION : OPEN ISSUES

Vincenzo Caprara op
Espaces Pistoia

The count down started for European Commission and Parliament, whose five-year term is ending on June 2009. EU rules provides that the change of European commission - the government of the 27 States - has to be held at the same time with the election of the EU parliamentary representatives, that are scheduled for next spring. Some relevant issues weigh on the ballot and some reflections are necessary to cast our vote being conscious of its importance in continuing the construction of the common European home.

Several initiatives have been promoted in preparation of this election that aim first of all to make the electoral debate an occasion to discuss real "European themes" : in other words, to avoid that this election are not a simple repetition of the States’ general and local elections, with regards to the subjects discussed. The reason is in a very obvious consideration : the recent financial crisis, as it is global shows clearly the need of treating some key themes at super-national levels, in the light of the inability of single national States to deal with them. It must be underlined that such inability does not mean incapability of States to delineate their own policies : it should be interpreted as a natural limit to deal with issues that - deriving directly from globalization - have causes and implication that go beyond national borders. Only ignoring such borders these problems can be understood and dealt with. The same European perspective will have to be adopted by the new Parliament elect if it wants to be effective in dealing with the challenges that the EU is now facing. During the last months the financial crisis, the overheating of planet and the environmental protection issue have been dealt with some declarations of principles the effects of which can only be evaluated in the mid term. A fundamental rule in this will be played by the European Parliament that will have to discuss and decide on measures directed to manage this issue with attention to the common European interests.

Another challenge for the new European Parliament we will elect in June is foreign policy. In this field too the paralysis determined by national States’ behaviours, is cause of concern. Moreover the political and institutional crisis of European Commission weighs on the ballot. The Commission - whose president is currently nominated by the States’ governments and then elected by the European Parliament - is largely perceived as an organism far from population with bureaucratic more than governmental functions. The fact that it is not directly elected by citizens increases the distance from public opinion - indeed several political parties propose the direct election of the president of the European Commission, similarly to European parliamentary representatives.

A last issue of particularly importance is the "European democratic deficit" and the distance of the European integration process from citizens. After the success of Noes to European Constitution in France and The Netherlands, as well as after the reject of the Lisbon treaty by Ireland, a fact emerged : that European citizens perceive European institutions as remote from them although they know and appreciate the reasons of the European building, the role of European Parliament, the difficult work and the compromises needed to achieve an agreement on the Constitutional treaty.

Defending the European building is right but is not sufficient : more has to be done to give an answer to citizens’ demand of transparency and legitimacy for the EU. Most certainly, it is just a matter of perceptions, but this is not a good reason to negate it : it is known that perceptions are relevant in politics, either national or international. It is worthwhile, therefore, to try and find solutions that may increase transparency and democracy in the main European political appointments.

What could we do on this ground ? One possible answer exactly regards the election for renewing the European Parliament. In theory, it should be the central moment of the democratic life of the EU. Actually, instead, a combination of factors - such the attitude of political parties, the lack of links with national elections, etc. - makes the European election an opaque and politically ambiguous event.

What should be done first is to make European Parliament election more "European", instead of being just one of the many national elections, in which Europe is often just a secondary element. Uniform electoral procedure should be provided in all the EU countries : this is what is stated by article no. 190.4 of the European Community treaty, that has never been put into effect. Voting with the same system in the same day would give the perception that the election is really European and not national. It would be political parties’ and media’s responsibility to explain the correct meaning of what citizens are doing : that they are electing the representatives to a European Parliament that during time has increased its powers and it is not a sham legislature any longer. Linked to this, there is the problem of the Italian law that regulates European representatives election. Such law divides the country in only five electoral colleges with the result - among others -that less populous regions do not elect even one representative. This is the case of Sardinia, that is in the same college with Sicily. The latter, being much more populous than the former systematically elects all the electoral college representatives. The consequence is that a weak connection between electors and representatives exists - how many citizens are able to list the name of one or more European parliamentary representatives elected in their region ?

If we want to complete the actual building of a united Europe we need, after all, not only to be able to face the challenges that we have in front of us, but also to be able to think in a new way : to think according to an "European ideal". An ideal that we all should remember when going to vote in next June, not allowing ourselves to be driven by "internal interests". This is the only way we have to give to the new Parliament a mandate and a government programme with the goal to manage the most important European challenges with full democratic legitimacy and being able to give to European citizens hope in the fathers founder’s dream of an European government, which is closer than we can imagine.