Press release, 7 April 2014
On Monday, the Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments has started in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania for the first time in the history of our country.
Loreta Grauţinienë, Speaker of the Seimas, opened the Conference and observed that the event was taking place in the historical Hall of the Act of 11 March where the independence of Lithuania was restored 20 years ago. The leader of the Seimas invited all participants to watch the video of the Hall of the Act of 11 March.
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, was unable to attend the Conference due to the changes in the agenda and addressed the participants via a video message from Brussels. He noted in his speech that Europe as a whole had come out of recession. According to José Manuel Barroso, “We see new economic growth and you can say that the existential threat to the euro is now behind us,” there are also many challenges. “Unemployment of the young people continues to be the biggest drama; in some of our Member States is an especially difficult situation […]. Let us make sure together that particularly the European youth guarantee and the youth employment initiative and a new budget, a new Multiannual Financial Framework produce results, the desired results to help our young unemployed,“ the President of the European Commission encouraged.
At Session I, Speakers discussed the role of parliaments in tackling the consequences of the economic and financial crisis.
Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius made the first presentation and shared his ideas on the role of national Parliaments in reducing the democratic deficit that was particularly felt during the crisis. “The problem of the democratic deficit is one of the most sensitive issues in many European Union Member States today. The recent Eurobarometer data are upsetting as never before: about 66% of EU citizens have no illusions that their voice counts in the European Union. The EU institutions are considered to be far away from the people, and therefore not accountable to them, and the principles of operation of these institutions are complex and difficult to understand for the people. Notably for these reasons, it is not only the role of the European Parliament in the European Union that should be remembered, but also that of national parliaments as representative democracy at the national level,” Mr Butkevičius said.
When concluding the Prime Minister highlighted that: “Though we have great challenges ahead of us, including combating youth unemployment, skills mismatch, creating conditions for business competitiveness and economic growth and building a single energy market, we will jointly achieve the desired results and not only live up to, but also build up the greater trust of citizens by cherishing common European values.“
Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez, Vice-President of the European Parliament, spoke on behalf of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, and welcomed the debate on how to increase further the power of national Parliaments in the EU legislative process. “I remain convinced that the best way for a national Parliament to influence the EU legislative process is by having a tight grip on its executive. The European Parliament and national Parliaments are partners, not competitors in their efforts to ensure a more democratic and legitimate EU,” said the Vice-President of the European Parliament speaking on behalf of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament.
He noted that economic decisions affecting the whole nations needed “to be properly scrutinised by parliaments.” The speaker emphasised that it was important to hold executive decision-makers accountable. “We would be making a huge mistake if we deny the European Parliament and national Parliaments a proper democratic control. But parliaments and parties must act responsibly,” Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez stressed.
Mogens Lykketoft, Speaker of the Folketing of the Kingdom of Denmark, focused in his speech on unemployment in Europe and related problems.
“Even though there are signs of economic recovery in the EU, most Member States are still struggling to recover from the crisis. We still have more than 26 million unemployed people across Europe. One group remains disproportionately affected by the crisis: young people. The key question therefore is how to bring more young people into the workforce. In January 2014, 5.6 million under the age of 25 were unemployed in the EU. The highest rates were registered in Greece (59.0%) and Spain (55%). There is a risk of losing a whole generation of often well-educated young people in a combination of demobilizing long unemployment and emigration,” Mogens Lykketoft highlighted.
The speaker expressed the view that the European Union had delivered a determined response to the crisis mobilising more than EUR 700 billion to save crisis-struck countries. “But as I said earlier we must move away from a crisis response based solely on austerity. Improving Europe’s competitiveness should be improved by investing in better education and a proactive Labour Market Policy. Only in this way we can bring hope to the more than 26 million unemployed people across Europe,” said the Speaker of the Folketing of the Kingdom of Denmark.
The Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments is the final and one of the largest parliamentary dimension events of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which is conducted by the national Parliament of the Member State holding the Presidency in the second semester of the year and organised by this Member State following the completion of its Presidency in the first semester of the next year. Lithuania will hand the Presidency of the Conference over to Italy that will hold the Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments in the spring of 2015.
The Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments is broadcast live on the TV channel LRT Kultűra, TV programme Seimas Live, website of the Seimas and the website of the parliamentary dimension of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Monika Kutkaitytë, Public Relations Unit, Communications Department, Office of the Seimas,
tel. +370 5 239 6666, e-mail: [email protected]
