EU Parliament President Tajani to EuroFora : -"Dialogue with Citizens is On-Going"
*Brussels/EU Summit/Angelo Marcopolo/- Replying to our Question on "Eurofora"s project for Debates between EU Citizens and MEPs before Important Decisions, during his Press Conference, just after speaking at the EU Summit in Brussels, where Heads of State/Government are due to examine also Europe's and particularly €uroArea's foreseable Future, the experienced EU Parliament's President, former Twice EU Commissioner, Top MEP and f. Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, stressed that MEPs' "Dialogue with EU Citizens" is an "On-Going" Issue, particularly in the run up to the forthcoming May 2019 European Elections.
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- "Mr. President, You are very Kean, as you said also earlier in this Press Conference, about what EU Citizens feel as Important Issues. Don't you think that Now, that Preparations for the 2019 Elections have Started, it would be Interesting to have, in Parallel with the Debates - and probably also in order to Help in/Add to those Debates - that you'll organize with the (EU) Heads of States, also other Debates, - if possible, in a quite shoft and easy (simple) way - with the (EU) Citizens and MEPs, about the Most Important Issues that you have in (EU) Parliament'"s Agenda ?, "Eurofora" asked Antonio Tajani.
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- "On the (EU) Citizens : As You know, in (EU) Parliament, this Dialogue with Citizens is On-Going !", President Tajani stressed from the outset, in his Reply to "Eurofora"s Question, as a matter of General Principle.
- Because, already, "the European Parliament organizes a lot of Meetings with Citizens", at Various occasions :
- F.ex., inter alia, "in All my Visits to (EU) Member Countries together with the Conference of Presidents (of MEPs' Political Groups), we organize Meetings with the Citizens".
- Thus, "during my Recent Visit to Cyprus, I organized a Meeting with the Students, in the "House of Europe", in Cyprus, in Nicosia", he reminded.
+ "And, during our Visit to Bulgaria, for Paving the Way to the New EU Bulgarian Presidency (for the period of 1 - 6/2018), the European Parliament organized a meeting at the University, for Exhanges of Views, between the Conference of the Presidents (of MEPs' Groups) and the Citizens", he added.
- On this occasion, there were Direct "Questions and Answers, withOut any (Intermediary) Network".
- It was, indeed, "a real Debate : Free Questions - Free Answers. This is a New System for Better Communication", President Tajani observed, smiling, apparently Satisfied by such a Formula, (i.e. recognizing and appreciatiing the Value of Direct Debates between EU Decision-Makers and EU Citizens on Important Topical Issues, Before chosing one or another Solution).
+ Moreover, "the (EU Parliament's) Communication System is Also Organizing a New System of Communication" : In particular "Meetings with the most Important European "You-Tubers", (at the Web) for a Better Communication with (EU) Citizens".
++ And, in fact, "We are using the Parliament's Election Campaign (preparing the Horizon 2019) to explain our work, in order to Reduce the Distance between (EU) Citizens and the European Institutions", he concluded, as a matter of overall Principle.
+ In Addition, spontaneously reacting to an "Eurofora"s suggestion for EU Citizens-MEPs Debates "Before the Plenary Sessions", on the most Important Decisions affecting their Lives and/or Society at large, President Tajani appeared Ready to Advance even Further Ahead :
- Even if it's (naturally) impossible to invite all EU Citizens during the Plenary sessions", nevertheless, "we Invite the Most Important People, and we are Using the Plenary for Meetings with the Citizens, (f.ex.) on Tourism, on Africa, etc. There are a lot" of such Topical Issues open for Dialogue during the Plenaries, he concluded, leaving room for more eventual adequate moves on this key point for "Eurofora"s project, (See also Infra).
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+ In this regard, the Fact that "Eurofora"s 1997-2017+ Project for Regular Public Debates between EU Citizens and MEPs before EU Parliament's Plenary Sessions' Final Decisions on the most Important Issues which affect their Lives and/or Society at large, is meant (already from its inception : almost at the "Birth" of the Web in the 1990ies) to be realized, in practice, mainly via Internet Forums easily connecting the concerned people by Digital means, withOut Need of "Invitations", physical "Meetings", etc., i.e. in the Simplest possible way, (as we Evoked also in our Question at Today's Press Conference : Comp. Supra), is due to be Discussed with President Tajani also by EU Parliament's experienced Long-Time Press/Media Head and New Director of Communication, Jaume Duch from Spain, as he told us.
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++ Meanwhile, concerning Technical Aspects of "Eurofora"s Project about Web Forums at the eve of the most Important EU Decisions, (Comp. Supra), EU Parliament's Secretary General, the experienced Klaus Welle from Germany, who was Present at Today's Press Conference, made to "Eurofora" an Interesting Suggestion to Use a Practical "Ap." recently prepared by EU Parliament's Scientific Research section, which precisely, helps to Highlight the main Issues due to be Discussed and Decided at Each Forthcoming Plenary Session.
Welle has already presented, some Years ago, as well as more recently, an Interesting General Strategy on the development of Internet's various Actors' Potential for MEPs' outreach to EU Citizens, and has already Discussed such Issues Previously with "Eurofora" (See, f.ex., among others, also : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/euparliamentsecretarygeneralonmayelection.html + http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/euparliamentsecretarygeneraloncitizendebatesbeforedecisions.html , etc) also (working closely Together with President Tajani from January 2017) in view of the forthcming European Elections of 2019.
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+++ Earlier in Strasbourg, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's special Advisor, and Experienced former Chairman of the Biggest, ChristianDemocrat/EPP Group in the 47 Member Countries-strong PanEuropean CoE's Parliamentary Assembly, as well as f. Minister-President of the Flamish Region in Belgium, Luc Van den Brande, speaking to "Eurofora" during a meeting organized by the University of Strasbourg on Practical ways to Enhance "Horizontal" EU Democracy, did not exclude, but, on the contrary, found possible and interesting to eventually put in real practice a method as that which is suggested by "Eurofora"s project, certainly about Parliamentarian Decision-Making, but, perhaps, even on at least some among EU Commission's most important Decisions : - "Why not ? May be. We shall See", Van der Brande, carefully but positively, Replied in substance, after making sure about the main elements of the proposed schema in practice, (See : ...).
Van den Brande naturally spoke, on those occasions, also about his relevant Report on "a New Opportunity" for "Reaching out to EU Citizens", (that he has shown to "Eurofora"), which was written on October and Published on November 2017 by EU Commission in Brussels, but Discussed also in Strasbourg, including certain very Interesting Key Points able to Usefully Interact with "Eurofora"s project, largely Facilitating eachother, while both serving one and same General European Interest and Democratic, Topical Aim, (Comp. : ...).
**** Meanwhile, "Eurofora" had an occasion to Highlight the Topical Importance of developing EU Politicians - Citizens' Debates on main Decisions also with the President of EU Commission, Experienced former Long-Time Prime Minister of Luxembourg and f. €uroGroup's Head, Jean-Claude Juncker himself, during a Meeting at Offenburg, in Germany, Together with Chancellor Angie Merkel, for the 75th Anniversary of Long-Time Finance Minister and Now Parliament's President in Berlin, Wolfgang Schäuble, (See : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/schaublejunckerandmerkel.html), just after an interesting mention on such issues made by Juncker at his "State of the Union" Speech on September 2017 in EU Parliament in Strasbourg, almost in Synchrony with new French President Macron's landmark relevant speech for forthcoming Debates on Europe's Future with EU Citizens, symbolically made at the Historic Birthplace of Democracy,on Athen's Acropolis' hill at the Pnyx, (Comp.: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/macronatthehistoricsourcesofdemocracy.html +...)
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ECHR's President to "EuroFora" on Journalists Gongadze and Adali murders : Principles must apply to all States, without discrimination.
+ ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression (See below).
European Court of Human Rights' President, Jean-Paul Costa, questioned by "EuroFora" on Journalists' murders, as in Gongadze and Adali's cases etc., strongly stressed all CoE Member States' obligation to make efficient Investigations to find and punish those responsible, and underlined that ECHR's case-law's principles must apply to all without any discrimination.
His call was clearly supported by various Top MEPs who denounced a risk of "Double Standards" if some Journalists' murders are investigated, while others don't.
To avoid such risks, CoE's Parliamentary Assembly adopted a Resolution, on the occasion of Ukranian Journalist Gongadze's murder, "stressing", as a matter of general Principle, "the importance it attaches to the safety of Journalists and political activists, especially those linked to opposition groups, in ALL member states of the CoE". All "crimes against journalists and political activists must be investigated ... as a matter of priority, without political interference".
Costa was replying to "EuroFora"s question on the fact that, after CoE's Committee of Ministers, also CoE's Assembly had just adopted a Resolution on Gongadze murder case, based on an ECHR's judgement of 2005, asking a full Investigation from Ukraine, who has found and condemned in 10 years of jail 2 executants, but not yet the instigators.
While nothing similar was yet done for dissident Turkish Cypriot Kutlu Adali's murder, with 5 bullets shot at his head out of his Family's home in the territories of Cyprus occupied by Ankara's army, despite another ECHR's judgement of the same year 2005, and despite Turkey's claim that nobody was found among those responsible for the murder, and that there was nothing more to do..
In order to be credible and efficient, CoE's mechanisms shouldn't find a way to at least ask for full investigations of all Journalists' murders anywhere they might be committed, without exceptions ?
- "On the larger question that you raised, I'd like to say, since we are in a period of stock-taking on ECHR's 50 Years, that the Court's case-law developed certain concepts ....such as the Positive obligations of States, part of which are also the procedural obligations", started to reply ECHR's President.
- "Whenever Journalists, Lawyers, Defenders of Human Rights, or even simple Citizens are murdered, the States are held responsible, not only if its their own security forces' agents who committed these murders, but also if they didn't make sufficiently substantial and efficient Investigations", he stressed.
- "I want to strongly underline that we (ECHR) have found in many cases numerous violations of Articles 2 and 3 against States, ....(about) murders or torture, ...because they didn't make enough Investigations in order to try to find and punish those responsible".
- "We (ECHR) do that vis-a-vis all 47 (CoE) Member States, without any discrimination".
"Naturally, the circumstances in each particular case may be differend, and we can't ommit to apply the rules of proof, or the rules of criminal procedure".
"But we try, by all means, to apply these principles of our case-law, to all States", he concluded.
Costa's call was strongly supported by several Top CoE MEPs, from various Political areas
- "To investigate the murder of one Journalist, and not of another, looks like Double Standards", denounced the President of EuroLeft Group in CoE's Assembly, Dutch MEP Tiny Cox.
- "What is the reason ? Politics or specificity of a case ? Of course, if Cyprus and Turkey are involved, it's always a Political case"..
- "Murders of Journalists should always be fully investigated, because killing Journalists is not only killing persons, but also killing Free Press". "We (CoE's Assembly) should do our outmost to help People who are working on Free Press and they are under threat or murdered".
Because for Free Politics, Free Press is a pre-requisitive : Parliamentarians cannot function without a Free Press. Not investigating, is not protecting ourselves".
So we should investigate all Journalists' murders : We are talking about Gongadze, about the Cypriot man (Adali), about the Journalist murdered in Moscow one week ago, etc", Cox concluded
- "CoE can' look at these cases differently. CoE can't wear Blinckers !".
- "If the one is investigated, so has to be also the other. Why there wasn't full investigation ? Why's that ?", wondered British Socialist MEP, Alan Meale.
- "A good idea" would be to "make a Motion for Resolution", and "join all Journalists' murders. Adali and Gongadze etc", said to "EuroFora" EU Parliament Political affairs Committee's President, Goran Lindbland, ChristianDemocrat MEP from Sweden.
(See also earlier News at "EuroFora" on similar issues).
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ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression :
Almost Half of condemnations by ECHR for violations of Freedom of Expression in 2008, concern Turkey : 20 out of a total of 48 for all CoE's Member States.
Russia, Poland, France and Moldova were condemned only 3 times. Romania, Greece, Portugal, 2 times, and the other CoE Member States only 1 time, or none.
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During the last Decade : 1998 - 2008, Turkey was condemned for violating Freedom of Expression in ..169 cases, while Austria only in 24.
France and Moldova in 14 and 13, respectively, closely followed by Russia and Poland with 11 and 10, respectively. The rest of CoE Member States had less than ten condemnations.