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From: tv@isys-hh.Hanse.DE (Thomas Volkmar Worm)
Subject: Re: EU not Democratic? (was: Re: talk & travel)
Organization: iSYS Infosystems Hamburg/Germany - Loth Systemtechnik
Date: Tue, 21 Feb 1995 23:45:30 GMT
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Achim_Scheve@mk2.maus.sauerland.de (Achim Scheve) writes:

>duncan@lightning.eee.strath.ac.uk schrieb am 17.02.95 in der Msg
>A57122@MK2 (Gruppe soc.culture.german):
>>The problem is that while the European parliament is chosen by universal
>>suffrage, it has very little power, even post-Maastricht.
>The EP elected in 1994 will get more power during his period and the
>next parliament elected in 1999 will get more power...

Yes, and when I am dead (I'll hope not within the next 40 years) its got the
power of a real parliament.

>>The political
>>power lies with the Council of Ministers (comprising of members of the
>>governments (ie not parliaments) of individual member states) and the
>>European Commision, whose members are nominated by member states
>>governments (not parliaments, again).
>The parliament can say No! to the commission if the parliament thinks
>that too much members of commission are too bad.
Yes, but a real parliament can say YES.

>> So while EU citizens can vote on the composition of parliament, they
>>very little direct say in choice of those who actually weild the power.
>> This is a similar, but hierarchically inverse problem to the democratic
>>deficit which politics in Scotland is currently focussing on.  Here the
>>power in Scotland is invested in the `Scottish Office', made up of
>>members of the ruling UK government, whose composition is chosen by UK-
>>wide elections.
>In Germany all regions have political councils elected in direkt or
>indirekt elections.
>That is our tradition in federalism...

No, it's not. Our religions never were a stronghold of democracy. 

Bye Thomas


>Achim
-- 


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Thomas Volkmar Worm
