EU Representative: EU Isn't in Crisis, its Communication Is
The European Union in not in a crisis, however, the bloc's communication with the people and effective response to their expectations is, Mihela Zupancic, the head of the European Commission's Representation Office in Slovenia, said in Ljubljana.
Zupancic, speaking on Tuesday at a lecture entitled "Quo Vadis? The EU and the Future of Europe", added that EU citizens have probably lost some faith in EU institutions, but not in the EU as an integration project.
Zupancic believes that the crisis was triggered by last year's rejection of the EU constitutional treaty by two of the bloc's strong supporters, France and Netherlands.
The treaty was meant to give the bloc a new institutional momentum, needed because of the enlargement. Yet, Zupancic added, the document was presented to EU inhabitants as a fait accompli, she said.
The referendum rejection was therefore caused by the rift between EU institutions and voters, with globalisation and competitive pressures causing additional mistrust and uncertainty among the people.
The European Commission responded to these problems with plan D for Dialogue, Democracy, Debate, and called for a one-year pause with plans on the treaty. The period will run out in June, she added.
The debates have shown that the Europeans are worried about their future, that they have mixed feelings about further EU enlargement and want more information about the EU's functioning. They also wish to influence the bloc's decisions.
The bloc moreover established that at the given moment the treaty cannot be agreed upon. Future institutional decisions will have to be based on common denominators, a process that will require a clear vision and a strong political will, Zupancic believes.
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