Brussels, 27/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - How, with equal Treaties, can one improve the working of the European Union and of its Institutions so that they can best take up the main priority challenges to the advantage of the citizens? This, for Jérôme Vignon, who heads the task force on the European Commission's White Paper on governance, is the main question that the document planned for this summer should seek to answer. On the occasion of the conference on "ringing Europe closer its citizens, organised on Tuesday in Brussels by the two associations of Swedish local and regional authorities, in collaboration with the European Parliament and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, Jérôme Vignon stressed the main particularities of the European and Community system that should be taken into account in this exercise: 1) "general interest", which "does not necessarily exist" and that should be sought among very many interests. Mr Vignon noted that "the result is a mass of knowledge and positions … prior to a no doubt unequal decision" between experts, advisory committees … "This abundance of opinions is not always very clear, and the process should be more democratic", he said; 2) distance: "Europe is at any rate far from its citizens, and this distance should be managed, hence the importance of executive tasks, since the legislative is at a distant level"; 3) sectorialisation: "The EU is more subject to this than a national government as there is no European government that summarises the whole. Of course, the Commission is of a collegial nature, but this is not true of the Council or the EP"; 4) cooperation: as the powers of the Union are limited, "it cannot achieve all its aims through Community law" and must therefore achieve good cooperation between administrations, governments, social partners and regions …
Sweden's permanent representatives with the European Union, Gunnar Lund, insisted for his part on the role of the regions, which should, he says, be developed, in the knowledge that each State must itself define its own repartition. Furthermore, the Swedish Ambassador said the EU must "develop dialogue with the citizens through the intermediary of elected representatives, close to citizens". Gunnar Lund also stressed that the debate on good European governance is "a difficult question, which gives rise to controversy", mainly because it could lead to an "explosive situation on the role of the States themselves". The ambassador also warned that this debate on governance and the future of Europe should not override what he believes to be essential, namely the achievement of policies that the EU has launched over the past few years (euro, enlargement ….).
Sylvia Kaufmann (German PDS elected member, United Left), rapporteur on governance for the European Parliament, believes that reflection on governance should "not remain a Commission project but become a project at every level of the European Union". The guidelines that she would like to give this exercise include the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which "should be binding", the "strengthening of the role of the Parliaments, including the EP", "subsidiarity and power-sharing", and greater influence of the regions.