Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-04-Speech-2-183"
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"en.20010904.8.2-183"2
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"Mr Prodi, the introduction to your White Paper on European governance makes the problem clear. We are losing the citizens’ confidence, as the no vote in the Irish referendum showed. However your solutions are extremely weak. Better governance would be more transparency, increased consultation, increased communication, increased participation and a more open method of communication, for example. To be brief, Mr Prodi, these are the changes that would certainly be desirable for the European institutions to make to the way they work, but they will only have a marginal effect if they are not combined with deep-rooted changes in the balance of institutional powers. The people think, and we also think, that certain problems would be better resolved by better European cooperation, but, at the same time, they resolutely and constantly attaches most legitimacy to the national framework. That said, the conclusion is very simple: to strengthen the legitimacy of European cooperation, to make contact once more with the citizens, great influence and a much more visible role need to be given to the nation states within the European decision-making process. This is the basic condition for a true democracy, a word that is scarcely mentioned, moreover, Mr President, in your White Paper. All the rest is just idle chit-chat. For example, how can it be that, in your White Paper, we find developments in the involvement of regional and local structures in European politics, developments in decentralised management, in coregulation with various – non-identified – organisations, and how can it be that there is absolutely no mention of the essential role of national Parliaments in the European decision-making process? I imagine, Mr President, that, in your position, you were not able to resolve this issue, but the White Paper could at least have raised it. The best communication you could hope for is useless if European policies do not revolve around the crucial role of national democracies."@en1
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