Young European Federalists remind MEPs of their duties

Between 8h30 and 12h30 this morning, a group of 20 activists will distribute an open letter in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to remind the new MEPs of their duties.

“Looking at what is happening outside the European Union we see that politics can make people’s hearts beat faster. The low turnout of the last European elections shows how far away politics is from the citizens. Therefore, getting back to the citizens has to be the highest duty of the MEPs from the very first day on”, says the President of the Young European Federalists, Samuele Pii.

Getting back to the citizens has to be the highest duty of the MEPs from the very first day on.

The European Parliament’s powers will continue to increase. Therefore, it has to gain the support of the public opinion in the European Union. “In a democracy the power belongs to the citizens. Thus, a democracy without citizens has no power. In the open letter we raise the issues that can relaunch the trust between the citizens and the European Institutions, in particular the European Parliament”, continues Pii.

“Strasbourg could be considered the capital of democracy because it hosts the first directly elected supranational Parliament in history. This year, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first direct European elections”, states the President of Jeunes Européenes Strasbourg, Patricia Ruelleux.

“In 2014 we do not want an electoral campaign like the last one without a real European debate. We support the reform of the electoral system in order to have transnational lists of candidates. We believe that citizens will be more involved with cross-borders debates among different candidates”, concludes Ruelleux.