After the European elections last year, during these January days when temperatures are quite low in Brussels, the atmosphere among the commissioner-designates and their staff, Members of the European Parliament and the political public is becoming overheated. At first we were witness to a very wide range of atmospheres during hearings, ranging from relaxed to uncomfortable; both for candidates and for the audience alike. The speeches and answers of commissioners–designate often emphasised the common values of the European Union. So, what are these exactly? Read the rest of this entry »

In 2009 the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) celebrates its tenth anniversary. Throughout this decade, ESDP has been defined in relation to the existing system of collective security, NATO. As an expression of the quality of transatlantic relations in general, the relationship of ESDP and NATO has always been shaped by the following two contradictions. The first contradiction is the fact that the U.S. is demanding a more actively engaged Europe that is willing and able to bear a greater share of the burden of upholding the international order. At the same time, U.S. governments have been very reluctant in agreeing to a stronger and more independent political and military role for Europe. Europe is supposed to take more responsibility without gaining more say in political decisions. This is complemented by the European contradiction: Europeans demand exactly such a stronger political role for themselves while they remain unwilling to expand their (military) capabilities accordingly. They call for a responsibility they are not able to shoulder.

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When the EU was established and many decades after, one of its most remarkable characteristics was that it was an internationally recognized civilian power, a player on the international level that was able to maintain its status and recognition without the promotion or use of military power. However, the development of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) has raised widespread concerns over the EU’s identity as a civilian power and the gradual replacement of civilian power policy by military force. The Europeanization in the field of security and defence thus threatens to lead to a loss of control in executive decision-making on the use of military force by national parliaments which neither the European Parliament nor the former WEU have been able to compensate.

Many describe this process as the second strand of the ‘double democratic deficit’ that has been residing in the European Union. The first strand is the familiar notion of a general democratic deficit in the European Union, which has been a topic of debate ever since European Integration went beyond the establishment of a Free Trade Area. However, it is true that there are several grave distinctions that need to be made between the democratic deficit in the first and the one in the second pillar. Read the rest of this entry »

If one was asked this question, the answer appears to have been answered already: no, there can be no sustainable peace in Europe without the future enlargement, there can be no stability in Europe without the Western Balkans. But, with popular anxiety over further enlargements on the rise and with the unexpected difficulties facing the Union as it endeavours to reform its institutions, it is worth asking ourselves what is at stake, and why it is so important that the Western Balkans countries not be “left behind” in the European integration process.

After the accession of Bulgaria and Romania on 1 January 2007, ensuring the success of the enlargement process has become one of the EU’s major political priorities. And indeed, the very essence of European integration is to overcome the division of Europe and to contribute to the peaceful unification of the continent. The Western Balkans region is essential to the EU’s security and peace project. Read the rest of this entry »

The Lisbon Treaty has now been ratified by 25 Member States. If, as we hope, it is ratified by the end of the year, and if the Treaty enters into force by the beginning of 2010, the changes that the Treaty brings about will mean a more efficient Europe, a more transparent Europe, and a more democratic Europe, to the benefit of all European citizens.

Europe’s major problem at the moment is that the current rules and voting methods are meant for a European Union of 15 Member States, not of 27.  The Lisbon Treaty gives Europe the right tools to be efficient with 27 Member States.

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European issues directly affect every single moment of our daily lives and the future Europe we will give our sons and daughters. Although European governance may appear distant from the everyday reality of European citizens, we shouldn’t become trapped by euro-scepticism. 

The EU is not an impenetrable ‘Kafkian castle’, but an evolving tangible reality that we, as the electorate, have the opportunity to shape according to our needs and values. It is most unfortunate that it is still evident that Europeans have widely not taken advantage of this opportunity, as more than half of citizens did not exercise their democratic right in the Parliamentary elections last week. Criticisms of the EU’s shortcomings, as of many national and supranational institutions, are well-circulated and, in certain cases, quite valid. However, this article is devoted to acknowledging the undeniable achievements the EU has ensured for its citizens. Read the rest of this entry »

The European Parliament relentlessly tries to inform citizens about the reasons for voting in the upcoming elections. As on the previous occasion, the EP this time around is running an information campaign to reach citizens and hopefully thereby increase turnout. Similar tasks are fulfilled by many NGOs, which in different countries organize information campaigns regarding the EP and the elections.

What is still missing, however, among other things, is a reliable set of information regarding party programmes. In an idealized version of the democratic electoral process (often referred to in political science as the ‘responsible party government model’), voters make an informed choice between the competing parties both on the basis of their programmes and on their government or opposition record. Most observers doubt that this is the case nowadays, both in relation to national and European elections.

Voters simply do not read parties’ programmes, and instead rely on other sources to make their judgment about which parties to vote for, such as the media. In the European Parliament elections, this problem is further exacerbated by the fact confirmed by many opinion polls, namely that the EU citizens are not fully aware of the nature of the EP elections, let alone their lack of knowledge about party programmes. So what can be done to get voters interested in these elections?

One way of doing this is through developing Internet-based voting aid applications, which aim both at informing the citizens about party programmes on various issues, but which also are able to show which political party is closest to a given voter. This task is an ambition of the revolutionary voting aid application created for the European Parliament elections – EU Profiler (www.euprofiler.eu), launched on 23 April. Read the rest of this entry »

Many political scientists have long been arguing that the lack of connection between the results of the elections and the subsequent composition of the European Commission has been one of the key obstacles to the emergence of a pan-European political debate, and ultimately, for increased voters’ attention. From the point of view of the Euro-parties, it has led to the effect that so far they have not shaped their campaigns around their approval or criticism of the previous Commission (as would be the case nationally with the governing and opposition parties), but instead have focused on their ideas and solutions for the EU without much reference to the previous commission’s record. Most Euro-parties were further complaining that their electoral role and a real partisan, pan-European campaign, cannot be fully developed until the introduction of a common, pan-European constituency. In other words, without changes within the EU’s institutional environment, not much change was predicted.

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Academics should not only concentrate on analyzing and explaining the elections post-factum – that is, writing books and articles some time after the elections – but also to offer reliable accounts of valid political events as they are taking place. That is why I have accepted a kind invitation from the Centre for European Studies to write a blog devoted to the 2009 elections to the European Parliament (EP). Contrary to most other blogs devoted to the European Parliament elections, my analytical perspective will usually include the historical reflections and comparisons to six previous direct EP elections, taking place since 1979, and will also offer a background and comparisons to the wider literature on the elections and political parties in general. In this sense, it will be both informative and polemic. I am convinced that there is a large number of Internet users who look for such type of analysis and by providing them with it I can contribute my small part to stimulate the debate on the EP elections in an EU-wide perspective. Furthermore, I do hope that some readers will take a little while to enrich this blog by commenting and discussing some of my thoughts, thereby writing it together with me. Read the rest of this entry »

Eurothinkers is  the blog of the Centre for European Studies, the official think-tank of the EPP.   

Currently citizens are engaging in alternate methods of participation in politics. Protest votes, citizen abstention and the increase of voter distrust towards politics mark this phenomenon.

The Centre for European Studies aspires to be  a vital tool in connecting citizens with the policy makers, this blog being a perfect example.

These trends proliferate from the disaffection which citizens feel towards the traditional forms of political participation.  Social mobilization has thus become a day-to-day phenomenon in the media and politics. Do these changes translate into a growing disinterest of the citizens towards politics? Rather do they not reveal a certain disenchantment with the current organisation of representative democracy? In this campaign, Europeans must be informed through numerous modes of communication, of the policy issues being tackled on European level particularly in terms of the concrete solutions and concrete achievements Europe can offer.   Read the rest of this entry »