EU Parliament, Commission, Spanish 2010 EU Chair +Lisbon Treaty back EuroFora idea on Citizens' role

"EuroFora" project's main idea to involve EU Citizens in public debates before important decisions are taken by the EU which affect their lives, was strongly supported by a series of converging statements by the President of EU Parliament's largest Group, ChristianDemcrats/EP, Joseph Daul from France, EU Parliament's vice-President in charge of Transparency, British Liberal MEP Mrs Diana Wallis, EU Commission's vice-President Antonio Tajani, and the incoming Spanish 2010 EU Cuncil's Chairman-in-office, Minister for EU affairs, Diego Lopez Garrido, as well as by ... Lisbon Treaty itself,

    Lisbon Treaty's entry into force makes even more urgent and important for EU Parliament to come  closer to EU Citizens, because it's the main way through which the 2 New Top Official posts created by the Treaty, and particularly that of EU Council's President, can interact with People's concerns, agreed with "EuroFora" the President of the largest Group MEPs  (ChristianDemocrats/EPP), Joseph Daul from France.

    Daul, stressed that the main possibility for the 1st EU President, Herman Van Rompoy, who has just been appointed by EU's Heads of State and Government to chair EU Council until 2012, to regularly take the pulse of EU Citizens, is thanks to debates with EuroMPs : -

    - "He can contact and interact with (EU) Citizens through the European Parliament", and this makes its task even more important inside the New EU Institutiions under Lisbon Treaty, said the European People Party Group's President.

    - "I trust Van Rompuy, who was also an experienced Parliamentarian", that serious dialogue will go well with him, Daul observed from the outset.
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    But even, more concrete changes to be brought by Lisbon Treaty regarding EU Citizens' participation were highlighted in statements by other key EuroMPs in reply to "EuroFora"'s questions  on the occasion of a controversial Resolution they tabled to EU Parliament for vote on Thursday about "Access to EU Documents" and "Transparency" :

    -  "The references you cited in the Resolution, and  your  own Questions, go further than a simple Access to Documsnts", "EuroFora" observed. "Mainly the Article 11 of Lisbon Treaty, that you highlight, says that EU should give opportunities to associations (and) Citizens to .. "make known" their Opinions, and publicly also "Exchange Views about all areas of EU Institutions' action", and also have "a regular Dialogue", etc.

    - "Do you think, that this New aspect of Lisbon Treaty, could and should be developed through what you advise now, and do that News Projects, as "EuroFora",  which aim to try to help, through New Technologies, and in a Simplified way, for EU Citizens not only to be infformed, but also to engage in Public Dialogue about what is going on during the Decision-making process, of the 'EU) Parliament and other EU Institutions, could be a useful input, in the spirit of this Article 11 of Lisbon Treaty ?"

    Many among us aim, in fact, "at exactly what you say", agreed with "EuroFora" EU Parliament's vice-President in charge of Transparency, British Liberal MEP Mrs Diana Wallis :

    - "The vision that some of us inside EU Parliament have, and that I have tried to promote in the Inter-Institutional dialogue we have" (with EU Commission and Council), "is that we want to arrive to a position where EU Citizens will  be able to see on the Web exactly how every co-Legislation ffile is progressing at any stage. And by giving that sort of infoirmation, we hope that EU wiill increase Debaten, and will increase Participation in the Process", she stressed.

    "We have at the moment a process where the 3 Institutions are dealing with the Budget : It's a common sort of on-line documentation and amendment process. - "My aim would be to see that in all legislative files, where there is full co-decision (between Parliament, EU Commission and/or EU  Council).

    -  "So that Citizens can see, and, exactly what You indicate : Participate in the Process", Diana Wallis stressed.

     - "This is the Goal or Vision in my mind for the Future, in the Inter-Institutinal dialogue we have (between EU Parliament, Commission and Council) on Access to Documents", and I hope that we at least made the 1st tentative Steps in our meeting Yesterday, to ask our respective Services to go a way and look at possibilities for going towards that sort of scenario".

    - "But it only comes, of course, with Lisbon, and with the greated power of this (EU) Parliament as a co-Legislator. And that gives us more Clout, Punch, whatever you will, to take this forward", she concluded.
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    There is at least one red-line on which all EU Parliament's Groups, including EPP, we stand all together, and that is,at least, that "we shall not relinquish the Rights that we have gained" since 2001  for Transparency, added in reply to another "EuroFora"s question EU's Rapporteur on Access to Documents, British Socialist MEP Cashman.

    At any case, "in order to influence the outcome, even if you don't have legislative power,  you can only do that if you know the process, and how it proceeds", Cashman added later.

    - "In the Past", what happened between a 1st anouncement and a final EU Decision was closed "in a kind of Black Box" : Now this must changed, replied also to "EuroFora", EuroLeft's MEP Jung.

    EPP's Draft noted in particular that : "according to the new TEU, Openness and the Participation of civil society are essential requirements for the promotion of Good Governance in the EU institutions", while "the basic principles of Democracy dictate that Ditizens have a right to know and to follow the Decision-making process in order to have a comprehensive understanding of who is doing what, and why they are doing it, at EU level", "whereas the Lisbon Treaty calls for further improvements in transparency and public access"

    Moreover the EU " Court of Justice has confirmed that", "by allowing divergences between various points of view to be openly Debated", this  "confers greater Legitimacy on the institutions in the eyes of European Citizens and increases  their Confidence, the EPP Draft. added.
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Tajani to "EuroFora" :

- "Look also what is going on out of the Palaces.. That's the challenge !"
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    At another converging move, "EuroFora" asked EU Commission's voice-President, Antonio Tajani, who just launched today an EU-wide Consultation open to EU Citizens via the Internet for 3 Months on their wishes or concerns on Transsports, if he thinks that, since such situations evolve fast as he noted himself, similar consultations of Citizens should be repeated anew often and on several issues.

     - "I think consultatiion is always something positive. What EU Citizens think, businessmen, EU Parliament, etc. it's always a positive and useful thing to know", replied Tajani to "EuroFora"

    - "Personally, I'm favorable, in my (new) domain I will continue to do that, if I have EU Parliament's trust in the New Commission. I think that it's something positive, because it's in the same Philosophy" :

    - i.e. to "always look what's going on also out of Berleymont's palace and out of EU Parliament's palace : There is the challenge that we (EU) must win, with the Citizens, I think".

"And always listen to what they have to tell us". Natiurally, "any (EU) Commissioner may decide as he/she wishes. But, as far as I am concerned, I am absolutely in favor of advancing in this Strategy", Tajani promised.         
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2010 Spanish EU Presidency to "EuroFora" :
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    But, even if "Green" MEP Haidi Hautaloa claimed that "some EU Member States seem reluctant, and don't even want, in fact, the guarantees on Transparency already obtained in the Past", from EU Council's Ingter-Governemental point of view, the incoming Spanish 2010 EU Chairman-in-office, Minister for EU affairs, Diego Lopez Garrido, speaking to "EuroFora", promised a differend, positive stand :

    - Transparency and Citizens' debates are part of the 3rd, among 4 Priorities of the Spanish EU Presidency, which is to develop "a 21st Century's European Citizenbship", also by starting to apply the EU Chater or Fundamental Freedoms, making EU sign the PanEuropean Convention on Human Rights so that EuroCourt HR can start checking also EU acts, he said, speaking to Journalists in Strasbourg.

    Garrido, who was spontaneously interested to immediately read the pertinent Lisbon Treaty's Article 11 (See above) in front of "EuroFora", promissed that the 2010 Spanish EU Presidency intends to often create several large "Social Events" before important final EU decisions will be taken. 

                                                                                                                                                
    But, for such and other EU Citizen-friendly things to start really happening in the foreseeable future, and for Freedom  of expression and of the Press to be reélly and fully respected, we have much trhings to do, not only outside the EU, but "even inside" e have also to break down the last existing "Walls of Bureacracy", agreed later with "EuroFora" EU Parliament's President, Jarzy Buzek, reacting spontaneously to one of our questions for "2010" prospects....