Brussels, 18/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 17 September Berlin and Warsaw supported the idea of citizens directly electing the leaders of the European Union, in order to deal with the eurosceptism which is particularly fed by the debt crisis.
“We have reflected on the way in which we can bring back trust in the European Union”, said German Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido Westerwelle, who was taking part in a reflection group meeting in Warsaw on the future of the EU.
The group, comprising foreign affairs ministers from 11 countries, is preparing to present a series of recommendations to President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso - neither of whom is elected democratically. “We must understand that we are a community of values and we must defend our European model”, Westerwelle said. “The debt crisis has become more and more a crisis of trust”, he said. “I think that it is key and crucial for us to bring more and more transparency and democracy to our European institutions, and so I welcome the idea of direct elections to the European Union. I think it would be a very good response to the lack of trust that we currently have in the European Union”, he added.
Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radoslaw Sikorski backed his German counterpart. “We are studying how to make Europe more democratic”, he said. “We have concrete institutional proposals. The direct election of high level leaders is one of the possibilities”, he continued.
As well as Germany and Poland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain are participating in this reflection group. According to the head of Austrian diplomacy, Michael Spindelegger, direct elections could take place every five years, at the same time as the European Parliament elections. “What we must do in the future is be more active in convincing people that this Europe is truly a good plan for their future and their children's future. We must use more democratic instruments”, he concluded (our translation throughout). (LC/transl.fl)