Brussels, 21/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - With one million signatures in favour of a single-seat European Parliament, the petition in the campaign for reform of the European Parliament, which began four months ago, has reached a first symbolic result: - the shaping up of a first citizen initiative on a politically sensitive subject also of symbolic value. Speaking to the press on Thursday, Cecilia Malmström (ALDE, Sweden), who initiated the petition, was pleased to say that citizens, who are repeatedly asking themselves whether there should be this continual to and fro between Brussels and Strasbourg, have now reacted. Although the principle of participatory democracy recognised by the draft constitutional treaty under Article 47 is not in force, MEP Malmström trusts that the Commission will put all its weight to bear to ensure that the action launched in March will have concrete results.
It is a matter of pushing the Commission, and then the Council, to look at the question of having a single seat, she said, before handing the signatures over to President Barroso's Cabinet. Recalling the lack of confidence between citizens and European institutions, the president for the Campaign for Parliament Reform, Alexander Alvaro (ALDE, Germany), said the initiative was “a piece of a puzzle” that may help to make up for this failing. At his side, Piia-Noora Kauppi (EPP-ED, Finland) said it was not a matter of money (according to these MEPs, the monthly transhumance costs taxpayers €220 million annually) but rather of “democracy” and “efficiency”. Her colleague, Cem Özdemir, also said this approach is “not against Strasbourg”. The elected member of the Greens/EFA, who comes from Baden-Würtemberg, the German Land bordering on the Alsace region, said “It is really a matter of Europe and of supporting Europe”. Why not offer compensation which “confers as much prestige on France” as the presence of the Parliament does, British Labour member Richard Corbett suggested, evoking the possibility of organising European Council meetings there. Unlike the Commission, Council and Parliament that must interact together on a daily basis, the Heads of State define the EU's strategic vision and “it would be quite logical for them to stand back a little from day to day activities”, he said.
Should the EU launch into such a task when it is in the middle of reflection on its future and on that of the constitutional treaty? Responding to those who consider that France should be handled tactfully after its citizens rejected the constitutional treaty, the initiators of the campaign feel one should also consider public opinion in other countries. The number of people signing in the different Member States reveals the importance that they attribute to the Strasbourg seat, not only in the Netherlands (the other country that rejected the Constitution) but also in the Scandinavian countries. With 435,126 signatures, the Dutch turned up in mass to sign, ahead of the Swedes (139,386), Belgians (125,982), Finns (97,580), Danes (44,545) and Portuguese (41,053), also very involved. Then come the Germans (35,381), British (15,496) and Spanish (13,510). In France, only 6,710 signed the petition, and only 5,425 in Italy. “I cannot give a 100% guarantee - you never can with a petition” - that the methodology is faultless but, Ms Malmström told those who spoke of possible manipulation, “we have verified all the signature addresses, sending e-mails to eliminate those that were not valid”.
In any case, the European Commission is very cautious. “We shall of course receive the petition and look at it, but I would point out that the petition was not intended for us, as it concerns a matter regulated by the treaties”, and any changes therefore come under the competence of the Member States, a Commission spokesperson said after the signatures had been handed over. It would therefore be necessary to change the treaties in that case, the campaign initiators point out, saying the Commission had hoped to have initiatives from citizens and it now has a chance to go into this in greater detail. (The petition, to be forwarded to the Finnish Presidency, remains open on the site http://www.oneseat.eu ).