The Slovenia Times

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  Nataša Gorišek-Mencin

European Parliament

Where Citizens Meet The EU

08.06.2007

By Marko Vuković

If decision-making processes in the European Union can seem unwieldy even to its practitioners, one can only imagine how utterly complicated they can be for ordinary citizens.

Decisions made in Brussels, where major EU institutions have their seat, affect their lives in many ways. That is certainly true, Ms Nataša Goršek-Mencin, the head of European Parliament's information office in Ljubljana, conceded. However, to say that citizens cannot shape the policies hammered out at the EU level, because of the distance between them and their institutions, misses the point, argues the one-time screenwriter and film producer.

The European Parliament is the only directly-elected EU institution and, as such, is highly important. It decides on European directives and regulations on an equal footing with the EU member states represented by the Council. This gives EU citizens a direct link to the heart of EU decision making, explains Goršek-Mencin. In her view, the notion of a democratic deficit, i.e. the increasing distance between the citizens and centres of power where far-reaching decisions are adopted, is a bit exaggerated. "Those things decided on at the European level cannot be decided on the national level because of broader interests," she asserted, emphasizing energy and climate change issues that cross the borders of individual member states.

However, one should not mistake the European Parliament for just another, albeit important, part of the EU decision-making machinery. "The Parliament is a global player and, as such, it touches upon a number of global issues," Goršek-Mencin contended. She cited the recent visit to the European Parliament of Russia's president Vladimir Putin's harshest critic, the chess world's former champion Garry Kasparov as an example of how the Parliament can take a stand on a number of issues that are not necessarily connected with its legislative role within the EU.

Goršek-Mencin also thinks that the public is slowly beginning to realize just how the EU works. "How far are European institutions from the citizen? Just as far as the national institutions are," she maintained, stating that the member states' governments and members of European parliament are all elected by EU citizens. The days when governments could use 'Brussels' as a scapegoat for unpopular policies are over, she concluded.