Wednesday 6 May 2009

Simplicity

We need a European Union that is simple, democratic, and transparent.

We would like to see more powers for the European Parliament, we know that the subsidiarity principle should be respected, and we demand that the European Union speaks with one voice in foreign policy matters.

The EU should guarantee the four (or five) fundamental freedoms, it should be social and fair, it should protect the interest of the people and the interests of the member states. We ask for a European Union that is working intensively without costing too much.

Sovereignty should be maintained while supranationalism is achieved. The regions need to have their word to say, and the European Court of Justice has to make sure that EU law is respected all over the Union.

We want to protect 500 Million people from harm and global warming, but no institution should unnecessarily interfere into the lives of EU citizens and residents. The European Union should encourage peace and disarmament all over the world, and it needs efficient and well-trained armed forces to handle regional crises and fight terrorism.

Multilingualism should be the aim for every citizens, but the institutions shall not be confined by too many working languages. Minority rights have to be respected, but the majority should decide in referenda about the future of the Union.

Enlargement has to remain an option for European states not yet members of the Union, but enlarging the EU makes it less operational and causes more conflict.

We want a European Union that is simple, democratic, and transparent. And everything else.

More simplicity is an illusion.

2 comments:

Ralf Grahn said...

Julien,

I think that you manage to make the point that as long as the structure of the European Union is as complicated as it is, "simplification" talk easily becomes simplistic.

But a democratic and federal EU could be a lot clearer than the one we have.

Julien Frisch said...

Indeed.

That is why "simplicity" is an illusion, not democracy or transparency.