Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-24-Speech-3-086"
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"en.20100324.13.3-086"2
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"Mr President, I am grateful to Parliament for having had the initiative to hold this debate on, it seems to me, one of the most important, most relevant aspects from the democratic point of view, on the development of the European Union and of Europeanism amongst the European public. This relates to a very relevant issue, which begins a new stage in the European Union; as you know, of course, it concerns the Citizens’ Initiative. In other words, the possibility for at least one million European citizens, both men and women, from the various Member States, to be able to sign a legislative initiative.
That is why, Mr President, we have considered the citizens’ initiative to be a priority. As soon as the Commission submits its draft regulation – we would like to thank the Commission, and I must say especially President Barroso and Vice-President Šefčovič, for the concern with which they have prioritised this issue in the Commission’s work schedule; we are also grateful that it will take place imminently and very speedily, as Mr Šefčovič will be telling us shortly – we shall have a text that enables us, together with the Council and Parliament, to set in motion what European citizens are undoubtedly hoping for, before this six months are up.
We shall need to work on the different aspects involved, some more technical, others more political, but we must encourage it to happen.
That is why, from the time of the informal meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs at La Granja de San Ildefonso, as Mr Šefčovič and Mrs Malmström – still in office because the new Commission had not yet taken over – will remember, to the first meeting we held with the Commission in Madrid when the new College of Commissioners took over, and now this afternoon in Parliament, we are anxious to push this initiative. I would ask them – this would be the message I would like them to pass on to you, honourable Members – to show the utmost concern for this initiative.
I know that they will. Moreover, I would ask them to bring the utmost speed to something that I believe fairly easily unites general consensus in its various aspects, through the discussions that have taken place in the Council, Commission and Parliament, on the committee in which I participated, the Committee for Institutional Affairs, for example. I therefore think we can put this into practice, as it is one of the aspects of the new stage that is now beginning in the European Union that is most exciting for the public.
A legislative initiative that is, understandably, addressed to and set out before the Commission, which is the EU body with capacity for legislative initiatives.
The Citizens’ Initiative is a very clear priority for the Presidency of the Council. Very clear. It is a priority because we believe that it is a priority for Europe. When a country chairs the Council of the European Union, we believe that it should not implement its own priorities, its own goals simply as a country during that Presidency, but must go further and must be capable of representing Europe’s goals.
The Citizens’ Initiative, with its possibilities, with those entitlements it gives to citizens – to the approximately five hundred million European citizens – is an essential goal of Europe and for that reason, is one of the priorities of the Spanish Presidency, not through being a priority of Spain, but through being a priority of Europe.
Citizens are hoping that the Treaty of Lisbon will be implemented as quickly as possible after eight years of losing time through institutional uncertainties.
We have to make up that lost time and essentially respond to citizens, for what they want is participation. In other words, we have to gradually effect a rebalancing between the Europe that was being built during the 20th century more from the bottom down – albeit a democratic Europe – and a Europe that is also built from the bottom up.
That is why we believe that the Citizens’ Initiative must get going as soon as possible, because it will be evidence of the political will of the Member States, of Parliament and of the Union’s institutions to give the public a voice and enable citizens to participate in the life of the Union.
It will also counteract something that is unfortunately happening in the European Union as well: the fact that political debate is, for the most part, likely to be at national level; inbred debate. Here in Brussels, or in Parliament, a European debate is taking place, but in each of the Union’s countries, it is the national debate that predominates, not the European debate.
The citizens’ initiative is a tremendous device for successfully unleashing a genuine European debate in civil society. The initiatives put forward by citizens of various countries will unleash a European debate in every country, not just a purely national debate."@en1
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