Foreign Minister Tuomioja: EU approaches citizens by making better decisions

The citizens of the European Union are not in need for more information but for better decisions and concrete actions, said Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja in Brussels on 16 July in the General Affairs Council.

The EU's General Affairs Council started the Belgian presidency by having a public debate about the presidency programme and about how the Union could come closer to its citizens.

According to Foreign Minister Tuomioja, it is one of the greatest paradoxes of our times that the amount of people choosing their policy makers in a democratic manner is bigger than ever, but their confidence in those holding the power is so low. Globalisation is the key to understanding this paradox, Tuomioja said. Globalisation is a challenge to the EU as well, although according to Tuomioja there are many who see the EU as part of the problem.

Well-meaning dialogue between the civic society and organisations such as the EU and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not enough, because parties are divided into "us and them". A return to an undivided decision-making process comprising of “us”, which takes place in cooperation and not from high levels to lower levels, is needed, Tuomioja said.

According to the Foreign Minister, the attention to the citizens’ forum during the Belgian presidency is as important as an open and unbiased debate, but the forms of the debate must be developed. "I am not totally convinced that the discussion we had today is the best possible use of time", Tuomioja said. The debate was broadcast to a room reserved for representatives of the media, but not for instance to the Internet.

The presiding country's Foreign Minister Louis Michel summarised the debate: citizens’ participation in the EU’s debate must be increased, the debate must be trans-national, it must be future orientated, inform the citizens and there must be better information about the dialogue - perhaps the day’s debate was a step to the right direction, stated Michel.

Enlargement was also discussed in the General Affairs Council. According to Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade Kimmo Sasi, enlargement is a central political issue for Finland. Sasi said it is important that it has the support of the citizens in member as well as in candidate states.

The Council adopted a mutual stand on visa restrictions concerning members of the extreme movement in the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, but decided that an enactment of the visa restrictions would be decided at a later stage when recommended by the EU’s High Representative Javier Solana. The Council encouraged parties to continue the ceasefire.

With the conflicts in the Great Lakes Region of Africa continuing, the Council decided to continue its political and diplomatic efforts in the region. The Council will gradually restart its humanitarian assistance in the Democratic Republic of Congo in accordance with the implementation of the Lusaka accord and the UN Security Council resolutions.

During the luncheon, the ministers talked about situation in the Middle East as well as questions relating to Turkey and Cyprus. No conclusions were adopted.

















Conclusions of the General Affairs Council are first published in French(Link to another website.)

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