Proposals for greater openness, transparency and democracy in the EU

Abstract:

The European Union’s titanic treaties keep hitting the icebergs of public opinion. Despite some undoubted improvements in ensuring openness and transparency in the EU since 1991, there is still a widespread and justified perception that:

- the EU’s activities are too secretive and convoluted,

- the EU does not listen enough to the general public or organised civil society;

and

- there is too little control of the activities of the EU by the public, and in particular there is insufficient control of EU actions by directly elected parliaments.

It seems clear that these concerns played a significant role in the rejection of the proposed Treaty of Lisbon by the Irish electorate. Moreover, these concerns are widely shared by both critics and supporters of EU integration.