Mr. Prodi came to Strasbourg to talk about the Future of Europe with our responsible representatives
The Future of Europe is in good hands...
23 May 2007 - On the 22nd of May, in Strasbourg, MEPs met around the Prime Minister of Italy, Mr. Romano Prodi to talk about the Future of Europe. In a very motivated speech, Mr. Prodi highlighted what he thought was important. First, he reinstated the necessity of having renewed institutions in order to deal with the enlargement of the EU. He also argued that those who voted in favour of the Constitution represent more than half of European citizens and that they should also be listened to. The EU is in serious need of reform and the countries that are ready to begin further integration should be allowed to do so even if it means leaving some countries behind. In other word, he promoted the idea of a multi-speed Europe. Furthermore, Mr. Prodi warned against the setbacks that could arise from a compromised treaty. Finally, he insisted on the importance of showing the citizens the good side of the EU as it will not manage to go forward without the support of the latter. He considers that all of these elements should be taken into consideration or the EU might become nothing but the “Western appendix of the Asian continent”.
Whether one agrees with Mr. Prodi or not is completely understandable but at least, some credit should be given to the Italian Prime Minister for having actually said something that is debatable. Indeed, the rest of the supposed “debate” was closer to a “show-off contest” than a debate in the European Parliament. However before starting to criticize, honesty forces me to refer the intervention of some of the group leaders. The necessity of having a constitution seems to be shared by many of our representatives while they disagree on other matters such as the voting rules, the importance of subsidiarity, the danger of compromises, the status of the Treaty for a European Constitution and the need for a more social or a more liberal Europe. Calls have been made for more transparency and for a greater role to be given to the citizens, two elements that are central for EUD.
However, what could have been an interesting debate turned out to be another joke in the race for a “Constitution at any price”. There was some potential substance without any talks: many MEPs tried to spread their beliefs without reacting to other’s remarks and without caring if it related or not to the topic in question. Some even took the opportunity to settle some unresolved disagreement with Mr. Prodi or with another fellow MEP. The hemicycle was (let’s stay optimistic) half-full, the few MEPs present being occupied with highly important issue: reading the newspaper, talking to Mr. Prodi during someone else’s speech or even picking gracefully their nose. Let’s not despair, our future or the future of the European Union is in good hands!
By Anaïs Camus, EUD researcher
For more information, please contact: anais@eudemocrats.org