ANNUAL POLICY STRATEGY
Speech on the annual policy strategy before the summit in Brussels March 13-14.
11.03.2008
Mr. President,
I will use my speech today to propose a reform of the European Parliaments´ methods of dealing with the annual programs. Until now the elected members of national parliaments and the European parliament had no say.
The annual program is initiated and adopted by the non-elected in the Commission.
Member States coordinate their priorities through working programs of the shifting presidencies of the Council.
We discuss both. We amend nothing. We do not represent our voters in the very important agenda setting function.
Instead, we should insist on one JOINT working program for all institutions for the next year.
The Commission could draft a detailed proposal with annexes of all proposals for laws they intend to propose, including a legal base.
Then the national parliaments should deal with it, in their sectoral committees for a first reading, then in their European committees and finally in their plenaries.
National parliaments should meet in COSAC and formally adopt the working program.
The European Parliament should have its own readings
Then the European Union would be governed downwards up instead of top down. It would be directed by elected representatives for our peoples instead of being governed by civil servants and lobbyists behind closed doors.
When the program is adopted the national parliaments could then start the reading of the concrete proposals for “subsidiarity and proportionality” and decide the legal base. Then the European institutions could take over and all laws should be passed both in the Council with support of 75 % of the Member States and in the European Parliament with normal majority.
Then Europe would be a democracy instead of the mixture of the ideas of Machiavelli and Mussolini we build on to today.
Thank you Mr. President
