Brussels, 21/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - MEPs Graham Watson (ALDE, UK), Jo Leinen (PES, Germany), Piia-Naura Kauppi (EPP-ED, Finland) and Gerard Onesta (Greens-EFA, France) argue that world problems need global democracy. In a book they wrote together which will be published in Strasbourg next week on the fringes of the European Parliament plenary, the four MEPs call for the creation of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA). The UN has been laboriously trying to change and cannot avoid a root-and-branch democratic change to provide itself with legitimacy and capacity to take action to meet the challenges of globalisation at planetary scale. 'A more democratic approach to global governance is now needed to enhance the UN's capacity to act at global level,' explain the MEPs in a statement to be published in European newspapers on Monday 24 September. 'Ensuring the future well-being of our people and planet requires a step change in the way we view global governance. For too long, decisions affecting billions have been made by spuriously representative bodies,' they explain. The UN is far from perfect but 'surveys repeatedly show that the UN is the only multinational organisation to enjoy high levels of trust from the world's citizens. It is thus the natural focus for efforts to create a democratic body with a mandate for information, participation and control that would strengthen the global community's capacity to act. Indeed, a UNPA would be a decisive step towards ensuring stronger citizen representation, while linking the UN system more effectively to national parliaments and civil society,' explain the MEPs. They add that 'the European Parliament, as the most successful experiment in supranational democracy to date, has much to contribute to the debate about its form and structure - through experience of what works and what doesn't'. (ab)