R Reconnecting the European Parliament and its People is the culmination of a year long e c o n project between the Foreign Policy Centre and the European Commission n e c Representation in the United Kingdom. Edited by FPC Policy Director Adam Hug, the t i n g pamphlet includes contributions from Dr Richard Corbett, Dr Michael Shackleton, Liz t h e Atkins, Dr Adam Marshall, Cllr Flo Clucas, Dr Christian Kaunert and Kamil Zwolski. E u r o p e RECoNNECTINg ThE a The pamphlet argues that there is clearly room for improvement in the way MEPs and n P a the Parliament engage with the British public and a need to reform the electoral r l i a EURoPEAN PARLIAmENT system . The report seeks to provide positive recommendations for action that help m e n strengthen the bond between the European Parliament and the people it represents. t a n AND ITS PEoPLE d i t s P e o p Edited by Adam hug l e T h e F o r e i g n P o l i c y C e n t r e a The Foreign Policy Centre n d Suite 11, Second floor E u r 23-28 Penn Street o p London N1 5DL e a n United Kingdom C o www.fpc.org.uk m [email protected] m i s s © Foreign Policy Centre 2010 i o All rights reserved n R e p r ISBN-13 978-1-905833-18-4 e s e ISBN-10 1-905833-18-0 n t a t i o £4.95 n i n t h e U K Reconnecting the European Parliament and its People Edited by Adam Hug First Published in September 2010 by The Foreign Policy Centre Suite 11, Second Floor, 23-28 Penn Street London, N1 5DL United Kingdom www.fpc.org.uk [email protected] ©Foreign Policy Centre 2010 All Rights Reserved ISBN 13 978-1-905833-18-4 ISBN 10 1-905833-18-0 Cover Design by SoapBox Communications (www.soapboxcommunications.co.uk) Printed by InType Libra (www.intypelibra.co.uk) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this pamphlet are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Foreign Policy Centre or European Commission Representation in the UK 1 Acknowledgements The Foreign Policy Centre and the Commission Representation would like to thank our authors: Dr Richard Corbett, Dr Michael Shackleton, Liz Atkins, Dr Adam Marshall, Cllr Flo Clucas, Dr Christian Kaunert and Kamil Zwolski. We would also like to thank the speakers who participated in our four seminars around the country: Rt Hon Denis MacShane MP, Rt Hon David Heathcoat-Amory, Liz Atkins John Peet, Sajad Karim MEP, Dr Christian Kaunert, Jim Hancock, Val Stephens, Catherine Stihler MEP, Struan Stevenson MEP, Christopher Harvie MSP, Elspeth Attwooll, Professor Jo Shaw, (Lord)George Foulkes MSP, Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM, Derek Vaughan MEP, Dr Kay Swinburne MEP, John Bufton MEP, Jill Evans MEP and Dr Adam Marshall. The editor would especially like to thank FPC colleagues Anna Owen, Josephine Osikena, Stephen Twigg, Juliette Hurst, Nino Kereselidze and Verity Robins for their work in helping this project become a reality. Dominic Brett, Christine Harland-Lang, Neil Mitchison, Andy Klom and several other members of European Commission Representation in the UK have also been very supportive during the project. The editor would also like to thank: Dr Michael Shackleton, Simon Duffin, Prof Simon Hix, Owen Tudor, Dr Wilhelm Lehmann, Alistair Doherty, John Peet, Prof Anand Menon, Prof Ron Johnston and Prof Charles Pattie for their advice and expertise. Oli Henman, Ruxandra Ratiu, Jon Fitzmaurice, Kieran O'Keeffe, Nick Porter, Brian Duggan, Jenny Brown, James Temple-Smithson and Suzanne Richards gave help that was greatly appreciated. 2 Contents About the Authors 4 Key Recommendations 5 Introduction: ‘Do you know who your MEPs are?’ Adam Hug 7 Reconnecting the European Parliament and its People Dr Richard Corbett 18 After Lisbon: Creating more space for democratic debate Dr Michael Shackleton 26 Civil society and democracy in Europe Liz Atkins 32 The European Parliament and British business: Bridging the gaps Dr Adam Marshall 40 Reconnecting the European Parliament with local communities Cllr Flo Clucas 46 The European Parliament and the EU democratic deficit: The right solution to the wrong problem? Christian Kaunert and Kamil Zwolski 52 Conclusion: Reconnecting the European Parliament and its people Building trust at the EU’s democratic heart Adam Hug 60 Recommendations 79 3 About the authors Adam Hug is Policy Director at the Foreign Policy Centre and has led the Reconnecting the European Parliament and its People project. His previous publications have included work on Turkish membership of the EU and human rights in Georgia and Kazakhstan. Richard Corbett is a former MEP, serving from 1996-2009, and a renowned expert on the workings of the European Parliament. He is now a Cabinet member for the President of the European Council and is also an FPC Senior Research Associate. Dr Michael Shackleton is one of the leading academic experts on European Parliament issues and is Head of the UK Office of the European Parliament. Liz Atkins is the former Director of Public Policy at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and was on the panel for the project‟s London event. Dr Adam Marshall is the Director of Policy and External Affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce and was on the panel for the project‟s Cardiff event. Cllr Flo Clucas is President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group on the Committee of the Regions and was formerly Deputy Leader of Liverpool City Council. Her submission was kindly arranged by the Local Government Association. Dr Christian Kaunert is a lecturer in EU Politics and International Relations at the University of Salford and was on the panel for the project‟s Manchester event. Kamil Zwolski is a doctoral student at the University of Salford. 4 Our Key Recommendations This pamphlet seeks to make a positive contribution to the debate about how to improve public awareness of the work of MEPs and the European Parliament while making wider changes to the system to build a stronger connection with the electorate. Our headline recommendations are: Fundamentally reform the electoral system. The editor advocates the introduction of a Mixed Member Proportional system that creates individual local constituencies and ensures proportionality through a national top-up list. Connect better with the Media. Expand the capacity of the European Parliament‟s UK media team to engage editors, train MEPs‟ staff and get parliamentarians into the regional media. Bring the debate to UK Parliaments. Use rights under the Lisbon Treaty to strengthen UK Parliamentary scrutiny of EU draft legislation. Encourage individual Select Committees to look at EU legislation more regularly, strengthen cooperation between parliaments through COSAC and improve working with MEPs. Make the European Parliament more credible. Further reform expenses by requiring receipts for MEPs‟ general allowance spending and bring an end the migration to Strasbourg. Enable MEPs to nominate the Commission President and veto the appointment of individual Commissioners. Make debates more lively! Talk about the European Parliament in schools. Explore putting information about the European Parliament in the Key Stage 4 Citizenship curriculum. 5 Use civil society groups to reach their members. Improve the Parliament and MEPs engagement with key stakeholders in the voluntary sector, business and local government while strengthening the Citizen‟s Initiative and Agora processes. A full list of recommendations is available at the end of the pamphlet. 6 Introduction: ‘Do you know who your MEPs are?’ by Adam Hug “When has the European Parliament ever been connected to the people?” An oft-heard refrain from our four public seminars This pamphlet is the culmination of a year-long Foreign Policy Centre (FPC) and European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom project that sprang from the blank incomprehension expressed by many of the editor‟s friends and relatives to the seemingly simple question,” Do you know who are your MEPs are?”1. The editor would like to make clear from the outset that, both from the findings of the seminar series and from his own observations, the vast majority of the responsibility for this failure cannot be lain at the door of MEPs themselves. From experience most MEPs2 are hard working and highly capable legislators, toiling diligently, not only to shape EU legislation, but also to represent their constituents in the Parliament and the Parliament to their constituents. However, the system in which they operate is flawed and in need of urgent reform to ensure that the European Union‟s only directly elected institution gains an enhanced democratic legitimacy from an electorate who are starting to understand more about who and what they are voting for. This pamphlet brings together contributions of from some of the European Parliament‟s leading experts and its some of its key UK stakeholders. The introduction and conclusion seek to add to the mix some of the findings of the London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff seminars, the results of two surveys and some additional observations that are all 1 This project and pamphlet has primarily focused on the connection between the British public and the European Parliament and while some of its recommendations may have EU relevance it does not claim to be a comprehensive approach to the situation in all countries. 2 There are always going to be some exceptions in any institution. 7 focused on one important task: strengthening the connection between UK MEPs, the institution in which they sit, and the public that elects them.