Contributions
NEVILLE
KEERY, Clerk of QCEA, reports on suggestions brought to his attention
in the period up to and including Ireland Yearly Meeting of the
Religious Society of Friends, 3 – 7 April 2002:
Confidence
in EU Institutions
It
is clearly desirable that the peoples of an enlarged EU should have
confidence in the governing Institutions.
The
original structure has worked well and should be retained as far
as possible. It is important that the Institution – the Commission
– charged with the making of initiatives in the interest of
all the citizens of the Union should include a Commissioner from
each Member State. The sense of direct involvement provided through
a Commissioner is much more valuable than concern that there would
not be enough work for a large Commission. An important job for
each Commissioner could be to contribute energetically to improving
information about the Union in each Member State.
Other
suggestions relating to work on the current EU information deficit
relate to electronic information and concern about the role of lobbies.
It
seems to be current EU Institution policy to advantage electronic
information. That is positive and should continue but it must be
recognised that it will be a long time before a majority of EU citizens
have access to new information technology.
It
is suggested that all Commission initiatives should be supported
by a ‘Citizens Information File.’
Such
a file would say why the initiative was being proposed at that time,
what it was intended to achieve, would indicate possible problems
and likely criticism, and would give a comprehensive list of everyone
who had been consulted or who had lobbied in the course of preparation
of the initiative. The overall objective would be to assure all
citizens that the initiative was not being taken in the exclusive
interest of a small interest group in the EU or had been shaped
by a powerful lobby. Many currently see the EU as acting primarily
in the interest of business and security.
A great
deal of bad publicity for the EU has been generated by legislative
decisions which turn out to be defective or have unexpected consequences
despite the sophistication of the decision-making process. There
is therefore a need for a fast-track procedure for the correction
of unforeseen errors.
Peace
The
overwhelming argument for the EU is its historic contribution to
peace. Many see it as vital that the EU continue to be seen as a
force for peace and are concerned at what seems to be the current
priority of addressing security issues primarily in armed police
or military terms.
The
EU has set up mechanisms for forward studies and conflict prevention
and resolution. These must be made visible and their resources massively
increased. The teaching of peace studies in schools throughout the
EU would help to ensure a wider understanding of the Union’s
vocation for peace and of how that vocation is pursued through non-military
means.
QCEA
should consider convening a meeting of European academic centres
specialising in peace studies and in conflict prevention and resolution
with a view to mobilising expertise and innovation in these important
areas of EU interest.
In
many areas of EU engagement and concern immediate peace keeping
roles might be better played by an unarmed civil police force rather
than by army intervention. Part of the EU’s future development
should include creating the groundwork for the rapid mobilisation
of such an unarmed force when required.
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QCEA
gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the European Commission
for this project. This publication reflects the author’s views.
The Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the
information contained in this publication.
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