Closing the gap” “

Pat Cox , Irish, outgoing President of the European Parliament (he is due to pass the reins to his successor in the first plenary session of the EP in Strasbourg on 20 July), does not lose his customary smile. But, speaking with SIR, he has confirmed his concerns about the drop in the number of voters throughout the continent and says he “especially regrets the low voter turnout in the ten countries that have just joined the Union”. This indeed seems to be the major wound opened by the elections last weekend, to which should be added concerns about the increased presence of anti-European groups in the European Parliament. ApprovING THE CONSTITUTION. Pat Cox also emphasises “the increased presence of eurosceptic or even anti-European forces in the Parliament, in response to which the other MEPs will have the responsibility to reinforce the process towards united Europe”. “The political forces that believe in integration, on the other hand, form 85-90% of the future Assembly; that’s a fact that gives grounds for hope”. Cox also confirms “the need to proceed rapidly to the approval of the Constitution”. He adds: “These elections confirm the urgent need to achieve a Union that’s closer to citizens, to their everyday life, and capable of tackling their problems. We need a real policy of European dimension, but this was lacking in the electoral campaign, in which the domestic issues of member states predominated”. Lastly, Pat Cox suggests: “To make the next European elections more interesting, and to foster the closer participation of voters, I believe it would be useful if the main political forces were to suggest their own candidate as President of the Commission”. A PARTNERSHIP OF COMMUNICATION WITH CITIZENS. “The results of these elections underline a problem that already existed in the Union: abstention is growing; it was particularly high in the 10 new member states; and all this must make us reflect”. David Harley, director of Communication at the European Parliament, speaking to SIR, makes a preliminary assessment of the results: “There’s a problem of information that primarily calls into question the institutions of the Union; they must try to close the gap that separates them from citizens. But responsibilities are shared and an analysis of the question must also be conducted by the governments of the 25, by the political groups that sit in the Assembly and, lastly, by the mass media”. We need to create, according to the Englishman Harley, a “partnership of communication, a form of co-responsibility towards citizens”. Harley analyses the results of the poll further by distinguishing between the voter participation registered in the Fifteen (almost the same as that of 1999), in the Mediterranean islands, Malta and Cyprus (very high) and lastly in the countries of Eastern Europe: “In this case we have the figures for Hungary and Lithuania – he explains – which are very similar to the EU average, whereas those for big countries like Poland and Slovakia are very far from these percentages”. In these states, not more than a year ago, “a strong popular mobilization was registered for the referendum on EU membership. Now we must ask ourselves what happened, also because it’s possible that, once the final text of the Constitution is approved, these countries will have to return to the polls for a referendum of ratification. What will happen then?”. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE BY POLITICIANS. Divided by party alignments, united by the concern for the future of the Union: the leaders of the main political groups present in the European parliament analyse for SIR the results of the vote and unanimously revive the proposal of reinforcing the EP within the institutional framework of the EU. “I was struck by the low voter turnout registered in almost all the 25 states – says the German Hans Gert Poettering, leader of the People’s Party group at Strasbourg -. People don’t feel that the institutions of the Community are close to them. We politicians must dedicate ourselves far more actively to making citizens understand the decisions taken in the EP. A role of information that, clearly, is also up to the mass media in their respective countries”. For his part, the Spaniard Enrique Baron Crespo, leader of the Socialists, speaks of “a great proof of democracy, in spite of the drop in the number of voters. We need to reinforce the role of the Parliament, which must place development, employment, the defence of citizens and common foreign policy among its priorities. All the forces present in Strasbourg have the duty to collaborate in this direction”. The judgement of the English Liberal-Democrat Graham Watson emphasises instead “the worrying growth of the anti-European and populist forces within Parliament. We need to respond to these challenges by uniting the forces of the great pro-European parties. Our rulers must also realise that alone they cannot tackle the complexity of the international problems: Europe is a necessary scenario for the 25”.