Duch: “Vote to decide” ” “

  “This time it’s different”, goes one of the slogans of the awareness and information campaign for European elections of next May 22-25, a full-scale democracy evaluation run by 400 million voters across 28 countries to elect 751 MEPs. The EU has entered every day life with its “directives”, with structural funds and programs for territorial and social cohesion, with consumer protection policies or with Erasmus and research; but it is equally evident that further steps forward are needed to step up the effectiveness of the single market and economic and monetary governance, for energy and migration policy, for infrastructures… SIR Europe tackled these issues with Jaume Duch, Spanish, with long-dated experience in the Community seats, chair of the press office and spokesperson at the European Parliament. So why should “this time” be “different”? “For at least three reasons. The economic and social situation in Europe is much different from the way it was five years ago, when the last European elections took place, in 2009, owing to the repercussions of the crisis. To this regard, citizens have realized that Europe has been a major player over the past years. It takes decisions and intervenes concretely. Whether we agree or not, it’s a fact. Moreover, since the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty at the end of 2009 the European Parliament has assumed new legislative and budgetary powers and sought to use them to the benefit of citizens over the past five years. Moreover – third reason – now there is a closer bond between the election of MEPs and that of the president of the European Commission. It can also be hoped, and expected, that the electoral campaign that is taking off is more focused on themes with a European bearing. Political parties and their respective candidates to the post of EU Commission president are called to present their programs according to the model of European integration on which they ask to be elected”. “Act, react, decide” is another slogan of the institutional campaign to encourage citizens to go to the polls, given a high abstention risk. What does the slogan mean? “The intention is to illustrate the EU’s ability – that of the European Parliament in particular – to provide concrete answers to the needs of citizens, families, enterprises and civil society. It has been noticed that citizens don’t know enough about Europe, also because EU politics is as complex as that of member States, to say the least. Moreover, it should be acknowledged that various national politicians ascribe to the EU the only responsibilities and flaws it hasn’t got, thereby triggering and fuelling eurosceptic and populist stands”. A “responsibility” which at times is also ascribed to the media. You work with news agencies, the press, TV and websites: what do you think about it? “In my opinion a large part of the media has yet to undertake a sort of ‘European update’. Community integration advances at high speed, while a large number of networks and newspapers proceed at a slow pace and strive to understand the new distribution of powers and inform their readership and viewers what’s truly happening in Brussels and Strasbourg”. Why should a European citizen go to the polls at the end of May? “For the three above-mentioned reasons, and also because the EU has a great relevance in every day life. And for the same reasons of national elections, namely because every citizen has the right and the responsibility to participate in the political courses that will eventually influence employment, currency, pensions, public health… …for ideals or for membership to a given party. Moreover, citizens have a great opportunity to make their voice heard, to contribute to the shaping of Europe’s future”. You must have carried out electoral surveys on which are based the forecasts on the future composition of the European Parliament. “Indeed we have, and the forecasts are based on polls carried out at national level, whose results are very interesting. Data collected up to now – i.e. since the beginning of the electoral campaign – shows that the EP’s composition will differ from the present one, although the two current largest political groups, the EPP, the Socialists & Democrats, are expected to continue ranking first, although they tied. It is expected that other political groups will take some of their seats: increases are expected in the European United Left and in the extreme right, both of which are estimated at 5%; populist and anti-euro forces are expected to stabilize at 5%, and so should British Conservatives and other moderate forces from Poland. Liberal-democrats and Greens seem to be decreasing”. Interesting numbers and movements… “It is estimated that the various populist and eurosceptic forces combined could reach approximately 20%, with high percentages in some States but irrelevant in others, without affecting the decidedly pro-European hemicycle, also because most of these forces find it hard to participate in daily parliamentary activity. EPP, Socialists & Democrats, Liberal Democrats and Greens may still be 80% of all MEPs. Parliament will certainly be more diverse, interesting, combative, but very pro-European and not deadlocked in legislative activity”.