In the Heart of European Democracy

Mrs. Hedy d'Ancona (57), former Dutch minister, is at present member of the Comittee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs of the European Parliament.
This interview took place on May 26, 1995.

Jan-Pieter van Hooijdonck, Enschede

Interview

HEDY D'ANCONA

You have seen politics at both the national and the European level.
What do you consider the main difference?

The main differences are the competences, which means the subjects that are debated. The Maastricht Treaty distinguishes between three areas, or pillars. The first pillar is the internal market, the second one is about safety and foreign affairs and the third one is about justice and internal affairs. The second and the third pillar are decided about in an intergovernmental way which means that the national parliaments are the

highest decisionmaking bodies on these areas. Only the pillar of the internal market is decided upon on a European level.

What is then the real power of the European Parliament in the decisionmaking on the European level?

The European Parliament cannot control a government like a national parliament does. In my opinion the role of the EP is similar to the one of the Congress in the USA. Though not in all pillars of the Treaty, on the area of the internal market the European Commission and the Council of Ministers can no longer do without the cooperation and the agreement of the EP. But of course the European Parliament wants more co-decision, the more because 40 to 50 % of all national laws now comes from the European level.

Do you think it is necessary to change the structure of decisionmaking on the European level and the relationships between the institutions?

There are about sixteen ways in which decisions can be taken within the EU. This makes things very difficult. I think that indeed the relationships should change, also to make things much clearer for the European citizens.

What do you expect from the IGC next year and what will be the role of the European Parliament in it?

The EP thinks it is important that more decisions should be taken in a federal way and not only intergovernmental, also in the second and third pillar of the Treaty. A second point is that the process of decisionmaking should be made much more clearer, e.g. the Council of Ministers should more often take decisions by majority. And where the Council votes with majority, the European Parliament must have co-decision. We as EP hope that the IGC will bring changes in that direction since it is necessary. The EP can say that the EU cannot be enlarged before these changes in structure are carried through.

A different argument is that more states should be accepted in order to not let them get isolated. An option would be in that case the `Two-tier Europe'.
How do you feel about that?

Integration at different speeds is not a problem in my opinion as long as the final goal, which means European integration, is the same for every country.

At what speed do you think the European Union will enlarge?

Cyprus and Malta will probably be the next new memberstates. Around the year 2000 countries from Eastern Europe can become members.

So far European citizens have not shown much interest in European unification. What do you see as the main cause for that and can European citizens influence the building of your future Europe?

European unification does not live in the hearts of people. One of the main causes is that the media give very little attention to it. If European citizens want to feel involved with European unification it is not easy for them. This is partly due to the unclarity of European decisionmaking but also to the lack of interest of the media for Europe. It is also difficult to see clearly what the political differences are at the European level. The only solution for the politicians is to get out on the street and to tell the people continously about the importance of Europe and to stress the fact that Europe needs people in order to make it legitimate in society.

What do you think of the `Europe of the Regions'?

There already is a Committee of the Regions in the EU. I must say that some Regions are very interested in European unification, especially border regions. You could say the interest of people in European unification is little, but regions are a good example of specific groups like e.g. disabled people and students that are very interested in Europe and have organized themselves on a European level. There may not be a large quantity of interest in European unification, but the quality of the interest is high because of those NGO's.

How do you see the role of young people and youth organizations like AEGEE in the building of a united Europe?

They play a very important role in it; they are the first European citizens. Because of exchange programmes like ERASMUS and SOCRATES and leisure activities young people today feel much more European than past generations. This has a big spin-off to other European citizens. It is great that these days Europe is open for young people who can study or work somewhere else. Meeting other cultures gives a better view on the world and helps to diminish feelings of nationalism and prejudices.

Drop a comment on this article