Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Opinion

Why Europe needs a new, democratic convention

  • "The EU does not merely need to communicate with its citizens, it needs to empower them" (Photo: EUobserver)

A spectre is haunting Europe – that of its own dissatisfied citizenry. It has been more than a year since the French and Dutch referenda on the

"Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe" ended with resounding "no" votes.

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EU leaders and institutions are slowly recovering from the shock, but they continue to delude themselves about the causes of, and possible solutions for, the EU's crisis. Europe will not move forward until it acts to remedy its longstanding democratic deficit.

Many EU leaders have failed to grasp why voters rejected the Constitutional Treaty. They prefer to believe that people were uninformed or that they voted "no" for the wrong reasons. Though a mix of factors contributed to the referendum results, the content of the Constitution itself was central.

More citizen involvement

Among the top reasons cited among French "no" voters in an IPSOS post-referendum poll were the Constitution's neo-liberal economic character (40%) and the desire to renegotiate for a better treaty (39%). Despite the oft-made accusation that domestic factors alone determined the outcome of the referenda, it is clear that many voters examined the Constitution and did not like what they saw.

Perhaps citizens would have been more amenable to approving the Constitution if they had been more involved in its drafting. Though the Convention that drew up the Constitutional Treaty was a vast improvement over previous treaty negotiations, it had neither the legitimacy nor the mandate of a constitution-drafting body: no elections were held to select delegates, and the initial stated purpose was simply to revise the

treaties.

While representatives were able to participate in relatively transparent discussions in the Convention's Forum, all decisions were made behind closed doors by the 15 members of the Presidium.

Pseudo-democracy

This kind of pseudo-democracy is typical of European politics: the EP is a legislature without a right of legislative initiative, and the Commission is not directly accountable to Parliament or to voters. Small wonder then that EU citizens overwhelmingly feel their voices do not count (54% vs. 36% in the latest Eurobarometer).

Faced with the present challenges, most EU leaders have sought to address the symptom (ratification difficulties) and not the problem itself (the democratic deficit).

Their "solutions" are therefore non-solutions: Belgian PM Verhofstadt wants the ratification process to continue so the Constitution can be revived by way of Declaration 30; German Chancellor Merkel has suggested making the French and Dutch vote again, this time with a symbolic, non-binding document on Europe's "social dimension" attached; and Austrian PM Schüssel has proposed a simultaneous, EU-wide referendum on the existing document in order to overwhelm the dissenting countries.

All of these proposals blindly pursue ratification of a treaty which has already been rejected.

Going back to the drawing board

The Commission's "Plan D" proposal comes closer to identifying the real problem, but it substitutes a "communication gap" for the democratic deficit. This leads to the false conclusion that Europe simply needs to communicate better. However, the EU does not merely need to communicate with its citizens, it needs to empower them.

The best way to overcome the current crisis is to go back to the drawing board, this time bringing citizens and their interests along. In other words, it is time for a new, democratic Convention.

The crucial difference from the previous Convention must be democracy, which needs to be incorporated into every step of the drafting process. This time, members of the constituent assembly should be directly elected. Elections on such a weighty matter would generate some of the citizen interest and media attention that has thus far been lacking in EU matters.

The proceedings of the Convention must also be transparent and democratic, with decisions – not just debates – taking place in public. Additionally, citizens and groups should be able make their own proposals directly, rather than having to work solely through delegates. Finally, citizen feedback should be regularly solicited and taken into account while the Convention is in operation.

The outcome of the new Convention's work should also be open and democratic. It should propose plans for moving forward, not necessarily limited to a new "Constitution". Most importantly, the results should be subject to simultaneous, EU-wide referenda.

If citizens feel they are part of the process, they will identify more with the work of the Convention and be more willing to accept compromises. By formulating its plans democratically, the new Convention will be able to win majority support across Europe for its proposals.

Eurobarometer surveys have consistently shown that citizens have a positive image of Europe, but that they feel their voices do not count in the EU. It is high time the EU began living up to the expectations of its citizens. A new Convention like that described above would be the first step toward a democratic renewal of Europe.

The author works for Democracy International, a network promoting direct democracy in the EU. He is the Assistant Project Coordinator for the Call for a New Convention.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

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