The EU is lacking in democracy. There are others far more skilled than me that can explain in depth the problem of weak democracy in the EU. From my limited knowledge I understand that we can elect our MEPs but we have no say at all over the MEPs from other countries. If certain member states block together they can get a law passed and the UK government would have no say. If other member states choose to elect far right MEPs we can not change this. That is a potentially appalling position to be in for the future. It is also very difficult for a citizen to bring an issue to parliament for debate - this is termed Direct Democracy.
Direct Democracy:
How an EU citizen petitions the EU Parliament:
It is possible within the mechanism of the EU parliament for Citizens to request a change to the law to be considered for debate by the EU commission.
1 million signatories are required from at least seven EU countries.
These are the steps absolutely necessary to organise a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI):
Clearly this is not an easy process at all and would taunt the most educated let alone those from poorer less educated communities added to the language barriers across the EU. The EU admitted in mid-2014 that it needed reform; two years later they still agree on this but no action has been taken so far. More information about the process can be found here. Furthermore, through the ECI mechanism, citizens can only request that the European Commission look at the proposed law or policy, and the Commission is not obliged to act. The Commission has also stated that ECI cannot be used to challenge or reject existing laws, but only to propose new ones.
In Contrast - How a UK citizen petitions the UK Parliament:
I believe in the principle of democracy and ensuring that the process of petitioning parliament is accessible to all.
Direct Democracy:
How an EU citizen petitions the EU Parliament:
It is possible within the mechanism of the EU parliament for Citizens to request a change to the law to be considered for debate by the EU commission.
1 million signatories are required from at least seven EU countries.
These are the steps absolutely necessary to organise a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI):
- Prepare the initiative and set up a committee of at least 7 EU citizen members, from at least 7 different EU countries.
- Register the ECI in one of the 23 official EU languages.
- For the use of an online signature collection system one can use the EU portal or your own system that needs to be certified.
- Collection of statements of support: These must total more than 1 million signatories and must come from at least seven EU countries. A minimum number of signatories must be reached in each of these countries. This will vary depending on the population of the country e.g. 54,750 are needed from the UK and 15,000 from Sweden.
- Get statements of support in each EU country certified by the national authority.
- Submit the ECI to the Commission for further consideration.
Clearly this is not an easy process at all and would taunt the most educated let alone those from poorer less educated communities added to the language barriers across the EU. The EU admitted in mid-2014 that it needed reform; two years later they still agree on this but no action has been taken so far. More information about the process can be found here. Furthermore, through the ECI mechanism, citizens can only request that the European Commission look at the proposed law or policy, and the Commission is not obliged to act. The Commission has also stated that ECI cannot be used to challenge or reject existing laws, but only to propose new ones.
In Contrast - How a UK citizen petitions the UK Parliament:
- Create a petition on-line using the .gov website.
- Five people need to support the petition.
- The government check the petition and then publish it. They reject petitions that don’t meet the standards for petitions e.g. libellous or against human rights.
- The Petitions Committee reviews all petitions published. They select petitions of interest to find out more about the issues raised. They have the power to press for action from government or Parliament.
- At 10,000 signatures a response is given by the government.
- At 100,000 signatures the petition will be considered for a debate in Parliament
I believe in the principle of democracy and ensuring that the process of petitioning parliament is accessible to all.