In the run-up to the European elections, people have started thinking about citizens. This is only logical because it is the citizens who vote. At his hearing at the reflection group chaired by Felipe Gonzalez, Alain Lamassoure devoted his address to the question of citizens, noting that the Lisbon Treaty could change the EU by making it possible for citizens to legitimately take power. At the same time, Henri Malosse, chair of the employers' group at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), presented a book he has jointly written with Bruno Vever, the title of which is illuminating: Save the European Citizen. They believe that the EU should make better use of the EESC and the Committee of the Regions, which are not involved in either analysing the impact of EU decisions or in prior consultation procedures. Noting “the gradual erosion of people's trust in institutions that have become more distant and remote,” they attribute this to the fact that European services are based essentially on lobbyists. They suggest that a code of good conduct for the European institutions be adopted on transparency, call for genuine consultation of social and economic stakeholders, and set out a Plan C (C for Citizens) which would involve radical innovations in how Europe is governed: a different approach to the single market (based on simplification rather than harmonisation); and defining a European development model. In their view, the most important thing is that Europe should be based on the regions, which are arenas of identity and proximity for EU citizens. They do not claim to have all the answers, but have come up with possible directions. One has the option, therefore, of picking and choosing among the authors' ideas (about the role of culture, for example) but everyone should agree with their call for the debate to be opened up. (F.R/transl.fl.)