In May 2019, over 200 million Europeans elected 751 Members of European Parliament . With more than 50 percent , the turnout was the highest it has ever been in the past 25 years and represents an increase of 8.3 percentage points from the previous election in 2014. To illustrate, more citizens were entitled to vote at the European elections than the United States has inhabitants as a whole.
In contrast to certain predictions made by political commentators and spectators, the election result gives a clear pro-European mandate for more European engagement, more European solutions and more cooperation on a European level. Citizens voted because they want to see Europe taking action on a range of crucial issues from climate, jobs and the economy, to migration , security and defense.
Today, more citizens approve of the European Union than in previous decades. This is a direct result of multiple advantages, which have often become a matter of course on the one hand, such as the ability to easily work or study in another EU country. Political developments such as Brexit have tested and ultimately strengthened citizens commitment to the European Union. With the Brexit process slowly ending, the imperative lessons to be learned from this is that politics must be centered on compromise and cooperation instead of unconditional enforcement of political opinion or will. However, at the same time the Union also faces more challenges.
When looking beyond the borders , it becomes evident that peace, freedom, democracy and prosperity cannot be taken for granted. Even in Europe, war is still a daily occurrence when looking to Eastern Ukraine . In some EU Member states, liberal, parliamentary democracy is questioned and fundamental rights such as the rule of law are trampled on. Thirty years after the end of the unjust regimes in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, many citizens are concerned that the rule of law and liberal democracy are endangered.
There is one major lesson from the fall of communism. Regimes, which do not respect the rule of law , human and fundamental rights, can never ensure trust , freedom and fairness in a society. A country that does not have an independent judiciary that suppresses civil society and media freedom, and denies its citizens a fair living environment will fail to establish a relationship of trust .
A changing world also leads to rising pressures from inside and outside the Union. On the one hand, nationalists and populists seek to weaken or partially destroy the EU. On the other, world leaders such as President Trump challenge the global order by withdrawing from international treaties, expanding protectionism and questioning multilateralism. To withstand these developments, we need to make Europe stronger, more capable and more efficient.
We have to deal with populist and nationalist forces through substantial debates and practice oriented approaches in order to expose their dangerous ignorance.
They claim that taking back power from Brussels to the capitals through a Europe of Nations will subsequently solve all issues. Equally, they assert that Europe can be sustained with a halved or even abolished European Parliament . However, the terrifying reality behind these claims is a weakened Europe of uncoordinated small-scale states. More isolation, more nationalism , more demarcation and less cooperation and cohesion at European level. This would lead to economic decline and in particular the decline of the middle class, as well as the global insignificance of Europe. Europe is too valuable to be torn apart by populist and nationalist forces. On the contrary, we must work together to strengthen the Union and intensify cooperation. Together we must tackle issues like the fight against tax havens and money laundering, security policy , climate and environmental protection, investments, research and development as well as the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Thankfully, the tactics of populists, who play on feelings of insecurity, fear and blame, did not succeed at a European level during the 2019 elections . The majority of citizens throughout Europe realized that falling into populist traps would be contrary to the reality of what they were really voting for. To fulfil the expectations and deliver on the promises made, we have to develop the democratic decision-making mechanisms further. Only then, we will be able to improve efficiency, build our capacity to find solutions and take action on the issues most important to citizens.
This means that we must abolish the practice of unanimous voting in the Council with regard to certain decisions taken by Member States. This practice leads to unnecessary blockades, blackmail and the total incapacity of the EU to act even when action is urgently needed. We fare much better wherever the co-decision procedure applies, and the European Parliament and the Council are on equal footing in terms of deciding on EU legislation. There is a stark difference between policy areas where co-decision applies and those where the EU is paralysed by unanimous decisions to be taken by all Member States .
This means that instead of the unanimity of Member States, there must be majority decisions in all policy areas. A simple majority in the European Parliament and a âdouble majorityâ of the Member States. Meaning a majority of Member States representing the majority of the European population. This would be more democratic, more transparent and more efficient.
The idea of Europe will only have a bright future if the EU-citizens are part of it. Today, hundreds of millions of citizens feel at home across national borders . We live in the largest shared economic area in the world driven by the freedom of movement, the free movement of goods, services and capital. Let us allow our citizens to be a stronger part of the political process on the European level.
The European Parliament is a reflection of European society. Trust , fairness, freedom, prosperity and cooperation mutually exclude populism and nationalism and can therefore not coexist within the same train of political thought an argumentation. That is why we need a Conference on the future of Europe . We need a strong partnership with the EU citizenâs apart from party politics. Let us put the future of Europe and the role of the European Union in the world above party lines. The future needs dialogue, European awareness and joint action.
