Liberal Democrat Member of the European
Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber
|
Diana Wallis Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Speech by Diana Wallis MEP at a dinner organised by the Federation of European Direct Selling Agents (FEDSA), Brussels 13/09/2000 |
|
I would like to make as a focus of what I have been asked to speak about, democratic accountability and soft law; I believe the issue here is about how we make our law, i.e. the process, and can soft law be democratic?
Let me start with a startling statistic that I heard over the weekend - more TV viewers in the UK voted in our Big Brother TV programme than voters voted in the European parliamentary elections when I was elected. I think the figures may be spurious but it is the principle - as parliamentarians we like to think we have a democratic mandate to legislate, that there is a continuing linkage and accountability through the ballot box. That has been until now our model of democratic governance. But of course, as we are witnessing at the present time, there are citizens who feel they should influence government by direct action. The problem with that is of course, who do they speak for? I did not vote for the lorry drivers blockading the streets and I cannot do anything to stop their actions. There is no democratic link and there is no accountability. But citizens do feel disenfranchised by certain decision-making bodies - the WTO Seattle talks are a good case in point. Now the argument runs that in an increasingly global, fast technologically developing world we need models of governance that are flexible and responsive. The argument goes on that the old nation state legislatures caught within their own boundaries by systems of national law are not up to the job. So we move towards all sort of differing regulatory regimes, sector specific, supra-national, European and or others capable of meshing with other system across the world. So we are moving towards what has been termed the 'New Approach' - a clear legal framework based on requirements essential to guarantee a high level of protection for the collective interest at large and co regulation, sharing responsibilities through negotiated agreements between public and private partners. I want to talk a little about the legislative process in the European Parliament. The Commission and the Parliament now have co-decision on many Directives, but soft law, or co-regulation, is likely to involve more use of recommendations and communications where the Parliament has less involvement. The Commission is beginning to use stakeholders groups to consult, something of which, in theory I approve. I asked what would be the Parliamentary involvement and was told that we would be reported to - but that is not the same as a seat at the table. The European institutions have always been held up as having a democratic deficit, something that was improved by the Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam giving the Parliament more powers. Now I feel the balance could shift again because of the type of legislative process that is evolving. We have to make sure that it is open, transparent and accountable and that all parties have the possibility to be represented in the process or Europe will suffer another crisis of legitimacy. Regarding the nature of soft law I would say that one of the golden rules for a legislature should be do not enact law that you cannot enforce. Soft law is fine but it must be backed up by effective enforcement otherwise it will be ineffectual, something which may bring the legislature into disrepute. In addition results may be uneven which will not be what business want in a competitive environment where they want everyone to play by the same rules. When we consider the US they have the FTC, what enforcement do we have of hard law, - 15 different Member State regimes, we know equal enforcement is a problem - , if soft law leads to further fragmentation it could endanger the Internal Market and all that has been achieved by that and again bring Europe into disrepute. That we should move on to experiment with models of governance in a new and changing world is undeniable but as a democratically elected parliamentarian I want to see a guarantee that the process is open, inclusive, accountable and transparent and that the results are effective and do not, by lack of clarity and enforceability, bring our legitimacy and that of the European Institutions into question. |
| Back to Speeches Contents Page |