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The European Economic and Social Committee: A Bridge between Europe and Civil Society Civil society organisations play a crucial role in the creation of a European model of participatory democracy, a system wherein citizens, through such organisations, actively express their commitment to economic and social development and civic life in their country. This is true both inside and outside the EU, from the local to the European level. In view of the role assigned to the ESC by the Treaties and in the light of its membership and the expertise of its members, the ESC represents, in the overall EU institutional framework, the ideal forum for representing civil society organisations, expressing their views and providing them with information. The ESC therefore provides a vital bridge between the EU and civil society, thereby complementing the role of the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions as political representatives of the people. The European Economic and Social Committee defines the concept of "civil society organisations" as being "the sum of all organisational structures whose members have objectives and responsibilities that are of general interest and who also act as mediators between the public authorities and citizens". This concept includes in particular all economic, social and occupational organisations, these being a fundamental component of organised civil society and governance within and beyond the borders of the EU. In many cases, they also play an increasingly important role in providing access to a number of collective goods or services (education, social protection, health etc.) as intermediaries between the public authorities (the State and its administration) and the marketplace. The First convention of civil society organised at European level which took place at the initiative and under the auspices of the Committee on 15 and 16 October 1999, confirmed the important role civil society organisations have to play in setting up a form of democratic public discourse in which citizens are fully involved, and hence in the development of a participatory model of civil society and in the formulation and implementation of policies which, by strengthening extra-parliamentary democratic structures, can increase confidence in the democratic process. This Convention of October 1999, which also clarified the role that the European Economic and Social Committee can play as an institutional channel in the decision-making process, aimed at bringing Europe closer to its citizens, the ESC has had two priority aims: 1>>>to establish the groundwork for cooperation with all organisations representing civil society at European level, and 2>>>to accentuate the Committee's role of providing a bridge between civil society organisations in the European Union and the applicant states on the one hand and the EU institutions on the other. The Nice Treaty, approved by the Intergovernmental Conference on 10 December 2000, confirmed the ESC's function in this respect, by making it the institutional representative, at European level, of civil society organisations. Indeed, Article 257 states that "the Committee shall consist of representatives of the various economic and social components of organised civil society, (…)". ThIs treaty thus gives the Committee an additional opportunity to play its full role as a relay between Europe and civil society organisations and act as a permanent, structured forum for dialogue and consultation at Community level. The ESC has an essential role to play in promoting greater support for and participation by civil society organisations in the European venture. In so doing it helps to develop a society that is more participatory, more inclusive and therefore more democratic, and to facilitate the emergence of such a society in countries or groups of non-EU countries and in particular in the applicant countries |
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Institutional balance and democratic legitimacy The Community's institutional balance has for a long time been state-based, with the Member States acting as virtually the sole driving force behind European integration. As this process of construction has developed, the question of legitimacy has become more and more acute. Thus the Treaty of Maastricht sparked off the incorporation of the principle of democratic legitimacy into the heart of the institutional system by giving the European Parliament greater powers over the appointment and supervision of the Commission. Despite the steps forward taken by the Treaty on European Union, there is still an imbalance between the Council's legislative powers and those of Parliament. The process of ratifying the Treaty in the Member States highlighted the imbalance between the existing state-based legitimacy and the democratic legitimacy which the public expects. As part of the reform of the institutions, the Treaty of Amsterdam seeks to strike a balance between the institutions which enjoy these two forms of legitimacy, so as to bring about a more democratic distribution of powers and involve Europe's citizens and national parliaments more closely in the decision-making process, one way being by the provision of more information. A number of changes will be made by the Treaty of Amsterdam, including: establishing the codecision procedure as general practice, while extending the European Parliament's powers in relation to lawmaking; enhancing the legitimacy of the Commission vis-a-vis the European Parliament and the Member States by overhauling the system for the appointment of the Commission and boosting the role of its President. |
Transparency The term "transparency" is frequently used in the language of the institutions to mean openness in the working of the Community institutions. It is linked to a variety of demands for broader public access to information and EU documents and more easily readable instruments (simplification of the Treaties, consolidation and better drafting of legislation). Complaints regarding a lack of transparency tend to reflect a general feeling that the European institutions are remote and secretive and that decision-making procedures are difficult for the ordinary European citizen to understand. The Treaty of Amsterdam has inserted a new Article 255 on transparency in the EC Treaty. This gives all citizens of the European Union, plus all natural or legal persons residing or having their registered offices in a Member State, the right of access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents. The general principles and any restrictions on access to such documents (on grounds of public or private interest) have to be determined by the Council, acting with Parliament under the codecision procedure, within two years after the entry into force of the new Treaty. All three institutions are required to incorporate special provisions on access to their documents in their rules of procedure. |
Democratic deficit The democratic deficit is a concept invoked principally in the argument that the European Union suffers from a lack of democracy and is becoming remote from the ordinary citizen because its method of operating is so complex. The view is that the Community institutional set-up is dominated by an institution combining legislative and government powers (the Council) and an institution that lacks democratic legitimacy (the Commission - even though its Members are appointed by the Member States, subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament, and collectively accountable to Parliament). The view that the Community suffers from a democratic deficit should diminish after the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, which provides for an extension of the European Parliament's powers and a regular supply of information to national parliaments. The Treaty also states that it "marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen". See: Institutional balance and democratic legitimacy Transparency |