EU institutions must be “more responsive and more accessible” – PD

by Gozo News · May 4, 2019

“Europe’s democratic institutions must not only work for the people but also be seen to be doing so,” insisted Partit Demokratiku in a statement today.

It pointed out that “one widely held perception is that European Union institutions work in a bubble with little regard for public opinion and the sensitivities of member states.”

PD added that “another is that national governments will often take the political credit when things are going well, whilst blaming the EU when things are not going so well, even if the fault may lie with the national government.”

MEP candidate Dr Anthony Buttigieg stated, “Partit Demokratiku believes that the EU must be based on decentralisation, moving away from burdensome bureaucracy and over-regulation. Decisions must be taken at the appropriate national or EU level, whichever serves Malta’s and other Member states’ best interest.”

He added that, “we share a responsibility to foster an honest debate about the future of Europe and better promote the positive impact of EU policies and cooperation on the lives of our citizens.”

Sec Gen and MEP candidate Martin Cauchi Inglott, remarked that “the EU is doing a good job on many fronts, but because the EU is failing to market its successes effectively, European citizens are often unaware about the power and benefits of our Union.”

“The EU needs to develop a marketing machine that reaches every single citizen in Europe through plain, simple, ideally graphic and video, messaging,” he added.

Partit Demokratiku insisted that a new “effective mechanism outside the framework of Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union needs to be implemented in order to monitor violations of fundamental rights, civil liberties and the rule of law in the member states of the EU. Monitoring on a regular basis is required.”

PD concluded by saying that it believes that “the European Commission, as the guardian of EU treaties and on the basis of objective criteria, must be able to enforce sanctions in cases of violations and create stronger conditionality between the rule of law and the receipt of European funding.”