From the Open Europe newsletter: -- EU referenda on the table in German coalition negotiations Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that CDU/CSU and SPD working groups have prepared a draft paper calling for more direct democracy via referenda in the on-going Grand Coalition talks. The proposals, which will be discussed on Wednesday, say that people should “be consulted directly on European policy decisions of special importance,” and that this applies “especially to new [EU] Member States, where important competences move to Brussels or when it comes to Germany’s financial contributions on the EU level - for this, we want to provide nationwide referendums.” -- Giving German voters a veto on EU enlargement means effectively to close doors to Eastern Europeans. The problem is not democracy here. It is the quality of the discourse on enlargement which is mainly highlighting risks and fears instead of balancing them with interests and opportunity.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 11:43:08 +0000
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