Az ülések szó szerinti jegyzőkönyve

2018. szeptember 13., Csütörtök - Strasbourg

16. Nagyobb interpellációk (vita)

  Der Präsident. – Als nächster Punkt der Tagesordnung folgt die Aussprache über die große Anfrage zur schriftlichen Beantwortung mit Aussprache von Ivan Jakovčić an die Kommission: Europatag zum gesetzlichen Feiertag erklären, damit die Werte der EU gefördert werden (G-000006/2018 - B8-0038/2018).

  Ivan Jakovčić, autor. – Poštovani predsjedavajući, ova inicijativa je moja inicijativa ovdje u Europskom parlamentu i ja sam je zaista htio vidjeti kao točku dnevnog reda Europskog parlamenta, ali ona izvorno dolazi s Twittera s porukom jednog gospodina koji ima profil @NeoZG. Gospodin je rođen u Sarajevu, u jednoj multietničkoj sredini. Živi u Zagrebu. Osobno ga ne poznajem, ali sam se oduševio njegovom idejom kada je upravo 9. svibnja ove godine izašao s inicijativom na toj društvenoj mreži i rekao kako bi ustvari dan Europe trebao postati državni praznik u zemljama članicama, odnosno kako bi Europa trebala imati svoj državni praznik jer upravo temelji ujedinjene Europe nastaju nakon Drugog svjetskog rata i svega onog stradanja kojeg smo imali.

Mene je ta ideja jednostavno oduševila. Odgovorio sam mu da sam puno maštao o tome kako bi dan Europe postao praznik u svim zemljama članicama i kako bih zaista volio vidjeti da sve zemlje članice imaju veliki praznik na dan Europe, a ne samo da u Moskvi imamo defile i proslavu dana pobjede na jedan spektakularan način svaki put. Mislim da to trebamo imati i u ovom dijelu europskoga kontinenta, ne samo na krajnjem istoku i vjerujem da ova inicijativa može biti taj jedan mali mozaik u stvaranju želje da dan Europe, dan pobjede, postane državni praznik u svim zemljama članicama.

Ono što želim naglasiti je svakako potreba da se prisjetimo da je upravo 9. svibnja dan Europe u spomen na deklaraciju koju je toga dana 1950. predstavio Robert Schuman. Taj se datum tradicionalno smatra početkom izgradnje današnje Europske unije. S jedne strane taj dan služi kako bi se istaknulo da Europska unija počiva na načelima vladavine prava i demokracije te podsjetilo kako se životi ljudi zahvaljujući Europskoj uniji mijenjaju nabolje. S druge strane, dan Europe je prilika za međusobno približavanje građana različitih država, svladavanje sve većeg osjećaja udaljenosti između građana i europskih institucija pa čak i za suzbijanje negativnog raspoloženja protiv Europske unije koje postoji, moramo biti potpuno objektivni, u nekim dijelovima Europske unije.

Uzimajući to u obzir želim Komisiji postaviti sljedeća pitanja:

– Bi li Komisija potaknula države članice da dan Europe obilježavaju kao državni praznik? I ako da, na koji to način može učiniti?

– Drugo, može li Komisija navesti koje su mjere već donesene kako bi se zajedničke vrijednosti Europske unije dijelile između građana i europskih institucija te kako 9. svibnja ne bi samo bio proslava izjave kojom su postavljeni temelji europske integracije, nego i prilika za promišljanje o glavnim izazovima, primjerice danas u područjima migracija, sigurnosti i gospodarstva?

– I treće, poduzima li Komisija trenutačno bilo kakve mjere kako bi promicala dan Europe kao dan obilježavanja vrijednosti građana Europske unije?

Možda na neka pitanja mogu i ja sam odgovoriti, ali namjerno ih želim institucionalno postaviti jer znam da i u samom Europskom parlamentu dan Europe obilježavamo na način da su otvorena vrata Europskog parlamenta i ja svakoga 9. svibnja i sudjelujem u tome. Međutim, mislim da je to nedovoljno. Nedovoljno je zato što je to zatvaranje u našu instituciju, umjesto da s našom institucijom idemo među građane i da zaista u takvim trenucima i takvim momentima zajednički promoviramo europske vrijednosti jer uz sve mane koje ima Europska unija, nema alternativu. Jer mana ima, ima i pogrešaka, ima i krivih procjena i krivih odluka, ali alternative nema.

I zato sam uvjeren da kao što postoje državni praznici svih zemalja članica, koje s pravom slavimo u svakoj državi, obilježavamo samostalnost naših država, neovisnost naših država, ja mislim da je odličan trenutak da zajednički razmotrimo i odlučimo kako bismo uspostavili i dan Europe kao pravi praznik Europe, pravi praznik demokracije, slobode, ljudskosti i bliskosti među narodima i građanima Europske unije. Zato pozivam Komisiju da izađe s takvom inicijativom i pozivam zemlje članice također da prihvate takvu inicijativu.

  Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, let me begin by thanking Mr Jakovčić for bringing this question forward. As stated in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union: ‘The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.’ These common values are the backdrop of our national democracies and a reflection of who we are.

There are worrying signs that the necessary knowledge of our common values and of the role of national and European democracy is not embedded enough. This risks leading to their erosion and it challenges the cohesion of our societies. Citizens need to be aware of their European Union citizenship rights in order fully to benefit from them. While some rights are well known to citizens, such as the right to free movement, gaps and misunderstandings remain. For example, awareness of the right to vote in European elections remains low.

The proportion of Europeans wanting to know more about their EU rights continues to increase – slowly, but it is increasing. The Commission will thus continue its efforts in this regard. Europe Day is a fantastic occasion to do exactly that. It is a landmark date in the calendar of the European Union when the Commission celebrates the European project and the common values it is founded on. Every year on 9 May the representations of the Commission organise a whole string of events in the Member States, often in cooperation with the European Parliament, national authorities and many other partners, NGOs and civil society. We open our doors to the public, encouraging visitors to experience how our everyday work allows European citizens to lead a better life.

The array of activities organised on 9 May is conducive to creating ever-stronger awareness of the European Union, its values and actions. By way of example, let me mention just some of the activities the Commission organises to celebrate European Day and share the Union’s common values. First, we promote citizens’ visits to projects financed by the EU, in the context of the ‘EU in my Region’ campaign, which is organised in cooperation with Member States.

Second, in 2018 more than 220 events have taken place focusing on awareness raising about European Union achievements, and reflecting on challenges for the European Union. This year, specific emphasis has been placed on European values, as well citizens’ rights, through the ‘EUandME campaign’. Furthermore, precisely on 9 May the Commission launched an online public consultation on the future of the EU. This ambitious debate runs in parallel with the ongoing Citizens’ Dialogues organised in the Member States, which have so far reached more than 320 238 citizens.

This is the context of the Council recommendation on promoting common values, inclusive education and the European dimension of teaching. The Commission recommends that Member States promote an annual celebration – of course on a voluntary basis – of a Day of the European Union in schools. This recommended Day of the European Union in schools would not constitute a public holiday, but would be an occasion to stimulate reflection among young people on the European Union and its values.

Against this background, the Commission does not deem it necessary to have 9 May established as a Europe-wide public holiday. However, they would welcome any decision in this direction taken by individual Member States at national level.

Let me also say a few words about what we do to promote European values through our programmes and policies. Firstly, a specific part of the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme is devoted to promoting the rights deriving from Union citizenship. It aims to promote awareness of European citizenship rights, as well as to foster inclusion and democratic participation by mobile European Union citizens living in other EU Member States, and by under-represented groups, including women and young people. We intend to continue and further to develop these activities under a new Justice, Rights and Values Fund after 2020.

We intend to continue to promote measures in the field of education in order to share and promote EU values, especially among young people. In fact, high-quality, inclusive education and training is essential not only in terms of offering our citizens knowledge and skills to succeed in the labour market but also in promoting the competences of critical thinking and deeper understanding of our common values.

The Council Recommendation on promoting common values, inclusive education and the European dimension of teaching, which was adopted on 22 May 2018, focuses on four objectives: first, promoting common values at all levels of education; second, fostering more inclusive education; third, encouraging a European dimension of teaching; and, fourth, supporting teachers and teaching.

In order to achieve the aims of the Council Recommendation, the Commission supports and works together with Member States. It is taking steps to enhance a sense of European identity among young people through initiatives such as: firstly, boosting school mobility under the Erasmus+ Programme; secondly, increasing virtual exchanges among schools, notably through the eTwinning network; thirdly, supporting teaching, learning, research and debates on European integration issues in all fields of education and training under the ‘Jean Monnet’ measures; fourthly, supporting numerous mutual learning initiatives between Member State authorities and stakeholders within the European Framework for cooperation in education and training; and, fifthly, the European Solidarity Corps and DiscoverEU.

Lastly, the European structural and investment funds can also be used to support teacher training or fund infrastructure to implement the recommendation.

I am now looking forward to our debate, and we will continue to reach out to the Member States through our communication efforts. I know that I can count on you in these joint efforts.

  Seán Kelly, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, first of all I’d like to compliment Mr Jakovčić on his initiative. I think it is well worth considering having a public holiday for Europe Day.

Europe Day was first introduced in 1985. The date commemorates the Schuman Declaration of May 1950, which proposed a pooling of the French and West German coal and steel industries, leading to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, established in 1952. Following the foundation of the European Union in 1993, observance of Europe Day by national and regional authorities increased significantly. Germany, in particular, has gone beyond celebrating just the day, and since 1995 has extended the observance to an entire Europe Week. In Poland, the Schuman Foundation, a Polish organisation advocating European integration, established in 1991, first organised a ‘Schuman parade’ on Europe Day 1999, at the time advocating the accession of Poland to the EU. The European Parliament formally recognised Europe Day in October 2008.

The EU is one of the most successful political projects in human history. It brought an end to war in Europe, creating a dynamic for peace and cooperation. My country joined in 1973. We have benefitted hugely from the customs union, the single market, free trade and the common agricultural policy. All these things have been very positive for us. Also, EU membership led to the abolition of the marriage ban and to establishing the principle of equal pay for equal work.

Celebrating Europe Day to me makes a lot of sense. It will also counteract some of the negativity that we were talking about this week, with Prime Minister Orbán using anti—EU rhetoric in Hungary to win re-election. So I think we should look to formalise it.

The Commissioner mentioned schools, but if the schools were free on that day they could do all the celebrating that week, in line with Germany. And also, if we had a Europe Day, MEPs could be back in their constituencies to celebrate it, because we are not available when the celebrations go ahead here in Europe.

  Andrejs Mamikins, on behalf of the S&D Group. – Mr President, I would say to the honourable Commissioner, my friend and real socialist Mr Andriukaitis, that Europe Day on 9 May is a big event for us. It has great salience for us here in the European Parliament and for all those who work in the European institutions. It is evident that we try to fill this day with the strongest meaning, but it is not the same for many ordinary European citizens to whom the European institutions still seem quite distant and irrelevant.

I am in favour of making Europe Day a public holiday in all the EU Member States, and I support my colleague, Ivan Jakovčić, in this claim. Holidays are traditionally connected to great family events or to the celebration of big historical dates. I think that Europe Day is both a historical date and a family holiday. This is something that makes people feel that their nation is part of a big family and it makes them turn back in time and imagine how this family started. This celebration certainly contributes to a positive vision of the EU, and to major awareness of what the EU actually is. But as information about the EU grows, do the expectations of the citizens of the EU grow? It is important that we make the citizens feel part of a secure, stable and prosperous Union, able to stand up for its interests in the international arena.

We don’t want to see people feeling part of a Union with an opaque decision—making system, disengaged from minority issues and subject to the will of the other great powers. Europe Day is a way to approach the hearts of the people. I know this personally, because for several years I have been participating in activities in my country, Latvia, on 9 May. I know that people come to the celebration with the hope of a better Europe.

It is extremely important that we do not destroy these fragile feelings by adopting measures that go against the fundamental rights of people and their personal development. I am speaking in particular about the Copyright Directive on which a majority of MEPs voted in favour here in this Chamber. I consider it a failure of the democratic process and as subjugation to pressure by lobbyists. I really don’t know how these MEPs will explain to their constituencies, to their voters, after the entry into force of the Directive, the reason why they voted for the computer filtering of social media, putting every piece they publish into a copyright panopticon.

In my opinion what we as MEPs cannot afford is to be deceptive with our voters – otherwise we just won’t have the moral right to go to the Europe Day celebration and pretend to work for the sake of Europeans. The EU is a great power, or even better, it is a great power in the making. I think that we still need to show to our partners how strong we feel about our values and how essential it is to adopt a multilateral approach when adopting even the smallest agreement.

Europe Day is also a message to the international community. We are a union, and we celebrate it like any country celebrates its national day. We all know well that foreign countries will try to use any cohesion gap, any deficits, any weakness and incompleteness of the European Union to their benefit. There is no other way to dissuade our partners from an opportunistic approach than to show our unity at every occasion. That is why I think the celebration of Europe Day must be held in all corners of the world where there are EU representations, missions, offices, embassies and so on.

Another point I would like to raise is the legitimacy of the European Union. We have many symbols – an anthem, a flag, a motto and Europe Day, and then the euro as a single currency became our symbol. But we need to be cautious about what message we transmit with our symbols. We must ensure that when the EU flag is flown in other countries it is there to bring only our peace and democracy.

  Urszula Krupa, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Dnia 9 maja Robert Schuman wygłosił deklarację uważaną za początek procesu integracji europejskiej, mówiąc, że Europa nie powstanie od razu ani w całości, lecz że będzie powstawać przez konkretne realizacje, tworząc najpierw rzeczywistą solidarność. Ustanowienie 9 maja Dniem Europy miałoby za cel poprawę integracji między obywatelami i instytucjami, z promowaniem wartości europejskich – co oczywiście jest bardzo ważne – i informacje te mogłyby być w dniu europejskim przekazywane.

Ale zanim zostanie ustanowione takie święto, należałoby przystąpić do faktycznego budowania solidarności europejskiej, z poszanowaniem suwerennych państw członkowskich. 9 maja w Polsce organizuje się różnorodne obchody z paradami Schumana, również w mass mediach poświęca się dużo czasu na podsumowanie członkostwa kraju w Unii. Jednak tego typu działania nie wyeliminują rosnącego poczucia dystansu między obywatelami a instytucjami europejskimi, dopóki sama Unia nie będzie przestrzegać przyjętych w traktatach wartości.

Art. 2 Traktatu o Unii Europejskiej mówi, że opiera się ona, między innymi, na poszanowaniu wolności, równości i solidarności. I tylko w nawiązaniu do tych słów nasuwają się pytania o podwójne standardy panujące w strukturach Unii, które dotyczą na przykład nierespektowania wyników wolnych wyborów w niektórych krajach członkowskich, faworyzowania rolników „starej piętnastki” we wspólnej polityce rolnej w porównaniu z rolnikami z Europy Środkowej, nacisków w związku z przyjmowaniem uchodźców, a nawet gorszej jakości produktów wysyłanych do Europy Środkowej.

Obywatele państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej dostrzegają odchodzenie od wartości prezentowanych przez założycieli, a szczególnie nierespektowanie wartości chrześcijańskich. Wydaje się, że dopóki Unia nie powróci do wartości reprezentowanych przez przywódców założycieli „Europy Ojczyzn”, świętowanie 9 maja byłoby jedynie przypomnieniem i celebracją deklaracji założycielskiej dalekiej od idei przyświecającej założycielom.

  André Elissen, namens de ENF-Fractie. – We spreken vandaag over het uitroepen van 9 mei tot officiële feestdag ter promotie van de Europese Unie. Dit is een onderdeel van de Europese promotiemachine, een machine die op volle toeren draait. Een treffend voorbeeld van deze propaganda is het Jean Monet-programma. Ieder jaar worden er vele honderden miljoenen euro's uitgegeven aan onderwijs. Men zou verwachten dat dit onderwijs bestaat uit het zorgvuldig belichten van alle kanten van een verhaal. Maar nee hoor, alleen positieve verhalen over de zogenaamd fenomenale prestaties van de Unie komen in aanmerking voor financiering.

Kritische geluiden kunnen fluiten naar een bijdrage. Ik heb hierover vragen gesteld aan de Europese Commissie, want dit kan en mag niet waar zijn. En, zoals we deze week konden zien, worden democratisch gekozen leiders, zoals de minister-president van Hongarije, de heer Orbán, in dit parlement beledigd en bijna met pek en veren weggejaagd. Dit omdat hij opkomt voor zijn eigen land. Ook andere landen, zoals Polen, kunnen zich opmaken voor de morele superioriteit vanuit de Unie.

Zolang je precies doet wat de Europese elite vraagt, word je met open armen ontvangen. Maar iedereen die het waagt om kritiek te spuien, krijgt met de eurofielen te maken. Kritiek op grenzeloze migratie wordt direct afgestraft door de elite hier. Die denkt zelf te moeten bepalen wat goed is voor Hongarije en de Hongaren.

En dan te bedenken dat de gesprekken over de toetreding van Turkije nog altijd niet zijn stopgezet. Deze islamitische dictatuur wordt met fluwelen handschoenen aangepakt, terwijl een democratische minister-president uit een democratisch land wordt weggezet als een tiran. Het is hypocriet. Dat is meten met twee maten. Kortom, het is typisch de Unie!

Zijn dat dan de zogenaamd gemeenschappelijke waarden van de Europese Unie? Is dat wat ieder jaar gevierd moet worden? Het moge duidelijk zijn, wij zien niets in een officiële vrije dag ter promotie van de Europese Unie. Bovendien is het nogal cynisch dat uitgerekend parlementariërs pleiten voor een extra vrije dag. Als er één groep mensen al meer dan genoeg vrije dagen heeft, of beter gezegd vrije dagen neemt, zijn het wel de leden van het Europees Parlement! Kijkt u even om u heen in deze pijnlijk lege zaal. Van de 751 parlementariërs heeft hoogstens een handvol de moeite genomen om dit belangrijke debat bij te wonen.

Normale mensen staan in de file in de ochtend- en avondspits. De enige kans dat een parlementariër in de file belandt, is wanneer hij of zij een handtekening wil zetten om de dagvergoeding op te kunnen strijken, om vervolgens zo snel mogelijk het parlement te verlaten. Pleiten voor nog een extra vrije dag is een klap in het gezicht van alle hardwerkende burgers. Er valt wat ons betreft niets te vieren.

(De spreker gaat in op een “blauwe kaart”-vraag overeenkomstig artikel 162, lid 8, van het Reglement.)

  Ivan Jakovčić (ALDE), pitanje koje je postavio podizanjem plave kartice. – Hvala, gospodine Elissen, što ste prihvatili moju plavu kartu. Meni nije žao što vi ne podržavate praznike jer mi je jasna vaša pozicija i nepoštivanje onoga što je vladavina prava u Europskoj uniji. Ali ovdje se radi o jednoj inicijativi jednog mladog čovjeka iz Sarajeva koji je predložio to i ja sam to doveo u Europski parlament i nije nikakva mašinerija Europske unije koja to želi nego obični građanin koji je došao s tom idejom.

Ali ja vas želim pitati nešto: zašto ste toliko licemjerni na kraju svog izlaganja i kažete da je ova hala prazna. Vi znate jako dobro koji je danas dan, znate jako dobro da je ova sala često prazna upravo zato što ljudi rade na odborima i rade druge zadatke i poslove.

A vi, za razliku od mene, koji sam često u ovoj sali, a ja vas jako, jako rijetko vidim, vi isto koristite ovu govornicu samo zato da biste blatili Europski parlament, a iz njega dobivate svoju plaću.

  André Elissen (ENF), "blauwe kaart"-antwoord. – Dank voor deze vraag. En ja, ook wij respecteren de rechtspraak. Sterker nog, wij respecteren de soevereiniteit van de rechtsstaten, zoals Polen en Hongarije, en dat doet dit Parlement niet door mijnheer Orbán zo te beledigen. Laat ik dat gezegd hebben.

Wat het feit betreft dat hier niemand aanwezig is, kan ik kort zijn. Bij u mag dat misschien anders zijn, maar wij in Nederland – en ik denk in meerdere Europese landen – hebben gewoon een vijfdaagse werkweek. Dus ook de donderdagmiddag en ook de vrijdag is voor ons een werkdag. U gaat me toch niet wijsmaken dat al die mensen die soms halverwege de stemmingen al weg zijn of over elkaar heen buitelen om naar buiten te kunnen om het vliegtuig, de trein of de auto te pakken om snel naar huis te gaan, allemaal aan het werken zijn? Kom nou niet met die flauwekul! Die hebben gewoon een extra vrije dag! En dat wéét u, alleen u kijkt weg en ik benoem het.

  Der Präsident. – Vielen Dank, Herr Elissen! Wenn ich mir ausnahmsweise mal die Freheit nehmen darf, auch selber Stellung zu nehmen: Wir haben hier die Debatte über die sogenannte große Anfrage. Es steht einzelnen Abgeordneten frei, mit Unterstützung ihrer Fraktion solche großen Anfragen zu stellen. Es ist allgemein bekannt, dass diese Diskussion über die großen Anfragen immer am Ende der Plenarwoche stattfindet.

Heute Mittag zu den Abstimmungen waren 700 Abgeordnete da. Es kann keine Rede davon sein, dass die sich heute Morgen eingetragen haben und dann abgehauen seien. Abgeordnete pflegen gemeinhin am Freitag in ihren Wahlkreisen ihrer Arbeit nachzugehen. Ich zum Beispiel nicht, ich komme aus Stuttgart und habe einen ganz kurzen Weg. Ich habe morgen noch zwei Besuchergruppen.

Also den Eindruck zu erwecken, als ob alle Kollegen hier morgens unterschreiben und dann abhauen, das halte ich für grob fahrlässig und auch für extrem unkollegial.

Im Übrigen: Was den Eindruck einer Selbstbedienungsdemokratie, den Sie erweckt haben, anbelangt, darf ich Sie mal in aller Bescheidenheit darauf hinweisen, dass es Mitgliedsparteien Ihrer Fraktion waren, die nun zur Rückzahlung von unrechtmäßg und betrügerisch verwendeten Geldern verpflichtet worden sind. Das erlaube ich mir in aller Bescheidenheit hier mal zu vermerken, nur damit die Dinge nicht unwidersprochen bleiben.

Herr Elissen, Sie dürfen gerne darauf erwidern. Ich will meine Position hier nicht ausnützen.

  André Elissen (ENF). – Ik moet zeggen, ik vind het wat brutaal eigenlijk. U noemt het bescheidenheid, maar dat is geen bescheidenheid. Dat laatste wat u zei, is gewoon brutaliteit. Los daarvan, u kunt nu wel doen alsof iedereen zo hard aan het werk is op al die dagen dat ze er niet zijn. Dat geldt zowel voor Straatsburg als voor Brussel. Dan zal ik u nog even een eindje op weg helpen. Waarom is het dan zo dat iedereen 's morgens bij het binnenkomen zijn dienstkaart voor die apparaatjes moet houden om te laten zien dat je er bent? En vervolgens bij het verlaten van het gebouw hoeft dat niet meer? Ze hebben het mij uitgelegd. Dat is timemanagement want dan kunnen we niet meer controleren of je inderdaad vier uur aanwezig bent geweest om recht te hebben op de dagvergoeding! En zo wordt de boel hier in de maling genomen!

U kunt allemaal wegkijken, maar dit is de werkelijkheid. Dit zal niet voor iedereen gelden, maar het geldt voor een hele grote groep. En als u meer bewijzen wilt, dan zou ik zeggen: komt u gewoon eens bij me langs. Dan kan ik u nog een heleboel andere zaken vertellen die hier niet deugen.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Mr President, I think it is incorrect to say that making Schuman Day a public holiday would actually add another free day for people to have a day off. There is nothing to stop countries getting rid of a public holiday they have already and replacing it with Schuman Day, 9 May.

  Der Präsident. – Bevor ich jetzt dem Herrn Kommissar das Wort erteile, will ich noch darauf hinweisen, dass der Nachweis zur Anwesenheit hier nicht durch den Zutrittsausweis, den wir hier haben, geführt wird – der Herr Kollege Elissen geht jetzt im Übrigen –, sondern dass dieser lediglich der Sicherheit beim Zugang dient. Der Nachweis der Anwesenheit geschieht über andere Methoden. Das hat mit dem Zutrittsausweis nichts zu tun.

  Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I would like to thank the honourable Members very much for the very interesting debate. I would like to thank the European Parliament, and especially Ivan Jakovčić, for driving forward the dialogue both here and with European citizens. I also thank those visitors who are here and who are listening to our debates, promoting and sharing our common values, as well as fostering discussions on topical European policy issues that are indeed essential for European citizens to reflect on, and on the European project, and becoming aware of their European identity. Such discussions are particularly important in the run-up to the European elections next May, as democratic participation is key to the European project. I would like to send this message here to all of us.

The Commission will continue to use Europe Day as an occasion to inform European citizens about the EU in general, and our common values in particular. The Commission is truly committed to engaging in open dialogue with our citizens on societal issues, and we will use all our resources to do so. Today we have heard different opinions. I am proud that we have had a good opportunity to listen to each other and to hear various opinions. Of course, having a European Day would create such an opportunity on a much broader scale.

Some speakers mentioned ‘democratically elected people’, but sometimes democratically elected people do not act in line with democratic process, the rule of law or democratic values. What can we do when we see that democracy has vanished? That is a question for all of us. It will be very important to continue our debates and to send the message to our citizens that they need more citizens’ dialogue. It would be good to ask citizens to take initiatives, to use the EU Citizens Initiative, and to debate interests in a broader sense, asking Member State parliaments and governments too to express their opinion.

Personally, I very much like the idea of having such a day. However, as a Commission, we should respect all the complexities and ask the citizens – here in this room and everywhere. Let’s start our debates together and then, maybe at election campaign time, we can use the possibility really to move forward – once again opening doors for all views, whether from the National Front or any other quarter. We should raise those issues together – showing that democracy is only one way but that respect for democracy must be introduced.

  Der Präsident. – Die Aussprache ist geschlossen.