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We need to show the added value of Europe, the real gains that it brings to the men, women and children across the Continent, each and every day of their lives. When I speak to national parliaments, I often talk about the need to stop the 'Brusselisation' of failure and nationalisation of success. All too often, 'Brussels' is blamed for imposing its will on Member States, for forcing national governments to take unpopular decisions. And it is not just the media who talk in these terms – sometimes it is national governments and parliaments as well.
I do not by any means wish to deny the legitimate concerns raised by many about issues such as democratic accountability, transparency and legitimacy; these are indeed issues that we need to address at the European level if we wish to convince citizens (and therefore voters) of the benefits of a united Europe. And yet these negative perceptions of European democracy are in many ways self-inflicted. The simple truth of the matter is that we are all 'Brussels'; decisions are not made by Brussels but in Brussels, by all the players in the policy-making process working together. And this of course includes both national governments, in the Council and European Council, and national parliaments, who have many opportunities to get involved. These range from the pre-legislative consultation and impact assessment phase to the final adoption of EU legislation at national level.
National parliaments are also of course responsible since the Lisbon Treaty for ensuring that the principle of subsidiarity is respected, and many of them have exercised their right to question EU proposals already, through the so-called yellow card procedure...
The Commission welcomes the increased level of consultation and discussion with national parliaments that this subsidiarity control mechanism has created, showing as it does the commitment of national parliaments to play a full role in EU policy-making. But it is in fact only part of the wider political dialogue with national parliaments that President Barroso has made one of the flagship initiatives of his presidency.
This has proved to be a great success with an obvious added value – in 2013 alone we received 592 opinions from national parliaments on a wide range of issues. Although, I should add, that this is not just about exchanging letters: the political dialogue has also seen many more Commissioners and experts get directly involved in talking to national parliamentarians directly on the issues that count…
In short, political dialogue is an invaluable part of the policy-making process: if opinions from national parliaments arrive at an early stage, they can serve as an early warning system, showing the Commission where the main issues are likely to be with the European Parliament or in the Council later on in the legislative process.
Of course, we can do more to make this process easier, improving the way in which opinions from national parliaments are drafted, to make them more focused, for example, and by speeding up the response times from the Commission; indeed, we want to guarantee a response within three months, and will continue to work towards achieving that goal as quickly as possible.
But important as it is to show how national governments and parliaments are deeply implicated in the European decision-making process, this is by no means the only way in which we can hope to encourage voter turnout. We need to show that European law-making is not an end in itself - a mere talking shop where decisions are made with little or no thought for their impact on people's lives. We need to show that European decision-making is not only open, transparent and democratic but also relevant to the lives of everyday citizens.
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This European election year is the perfect time to go back to our roots – to remind citizens of why European integration came about in the first place. Yes, it was to put an end to the need for war – worth remembering 100 years on from the start of the Great War – but it was also more than that.
Europe, in all its forms, is there to serve citizens: to make life easier, better, safer, cleaner, greener, happier, longer and more prosperous for everyone. We may not always succeed in all of these goals, but they remain the underlying philosophy behind all we do. Reminding European voters of this is the best way to encourage them to play their part in European democracy by voting next May.