Is the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) bringing the citizens closer to Europe or contrarily building a bureaucratic wall between them? The Parliament’s recent critical notes towards the Commission’s weak response to the first successful ECI ‘Right2Water’ as well as the new research paper ‘Towards a revision of the European citizens' initiative’, drawing attention to the complexity of the system, demonstrate the weaknesses of the democratic mechanism, losing the EU institutions’ credibility in the eyes of the citizens. How could the ECI system be reformed in order to reduce unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles and establish stronger binding responsibilities of the EU institutions responding to successful ECIs?
Despite the EU’s efforts to enhance co-operation with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and involve citizens in policy-making processes in order to strengthen the EU and increase the credibility of its decisions, democratic deficit is still an alarming issue in the EU. What strategy should the EU adopt to increase interest representation and engage NGOs as legitimate partners in policy-making?
The European Commission’s recent study ‘The Eastern Partnership (EaP) After Five Years: Time for Deep Rethinking’ calls for a major policy shift in how the EU views, and deals with, the six EaP countries. As bilateral relations between the EU and partner countries have proven to be more effective than a common approach, a clear division of the EaP countries into two groups has become inevitable. Taking into consideration the current political tensions in the region, what direction should the EU take with its EaP initiative?
In the light of the agricultural crisis set off by the Russian embargo on EU agricultural products, price pressure of large chain stores, rising production costs and declined consumption of agricultural products by the citizens of the Union, measures to aid the agricultural sector proposed by the Commission have come under strong criticism. What measures should the EU take to support its farmers in adapting with the new state of the market?
‘The future of education is blended and student-centred’, stated the Chairperson of the European Students’ Union, Mr. Fernando Miguel Galán Palomares. While the EU’s celebrated student mobility programme Erasmus+ strikes new records, e-learning, as another form of exchange between universities, is not yet recognised as a legitimate part of formal education in the EU. How could the EU use the full potential of digital learning in its higher education institutions and foster their co-operation in order to enhance the internationalisation of education as well as maintain the Union’s competitiveness in the field of research and its position as the largest knowledge economy?
Despite significant public funds being spent on decreasing youth unemployment in the EU, the level of young people out of work still remains as high as 23%. The research project ‘Strategic Transition for Youth Labour in Europe’ (STYLE) found that overeducation of youth reaches up to 33% in some Member States. With life-long learning and self-employment seen as some of the potential exit doors for jobless youth, what steps should the EU take to reduce youth unemployment in the long-run, consequently avoiding the social exclusion of youth and maintaining the competitiveness of its economy?
In response to around 400 000 annual premature deaths caused by air pollution in the EU, the Commission has proposed a new National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive ought to remedy the situation. With the ENVI Committee adopting an amended proposal by a short head, relevant stakeholders are still far from agreement, as stricter caps for pollutants would directly impact industrial and agricultural sectors. While some Member States are struggling with meeting the existing targets, what should the EU’s stance on stricter air pollution caps be and which steps should be taken in order to help Member States achieve a cleaner air environment?
As cloning for farming purposes is shadowed by citizens’ disapproval of such practice, negative effects on animal welfare and biodiversity, a regulation on cloning animals for food is currently being negotiated between the Parliament and the Council. To what extent should the EU restrict cloning for food and distribution of such products imported from third countries, taking into consideration the sustainability of the EU’s food production sector, relationships with trade partners as well as ethical concerns and health matters?