EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 272: Breve fra Europaudvalget til EU’s institutioner vedr. bidrag til konference om Europas fremtid

Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 272
Offentligt

President-elect of the European Commission

Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen

15. November 2019

Dear Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen,

Let me begin by congratulating you on your new and important post as Presi-

dent of the European Commission. I wish you the best of luck.

It is with great interest and pleasure that I have noticed your plans fora con-

ference on the future of Europe. Dialogue with citizens and civil society is in-

deed critical to the legitimacy of political decisions and a prerequisite for a vi-

tal European democracy.

Direct involvement of national parliaments in designing and participating in a

conference on the future of Europe is essential in order to create national

ownership to the process as well as to the outcome. This was also the case

when preparing the EU Charter of Fundamental rights and the Draft Treaty

establishing a Constitution for Europe. Hence, we find it in the natural order

of things for national parliaments to be included in any board or steering com-

mittee on the conference on the future of Europe.

The Danish Parliament has a strong tradition of engaging in dialogue with citi-

zens on European affairs. Today the Danish Parliament has an EU Infor-

mation Office offering impartial information to citizens on any EU-related is-

sue through various platforms and events. The European Affairs Committee

of the Danish Parliament has vast experience when it comes to organizing

both small and big debating events on EU-related issues. Citizens participat-

ing in these events are selected by polling institutes in order to form a repre-

sentative sample of the Danish population. This model has proven very fruit-

ful in that it has activated people who do not usually attend political debates

Parliament of Denmark

European Affairs

Committee

Christiansborg

1240 København K

3337 5500

[email protected]

www.ft.dk

A copy of this letter has been sent to:

Commissioner-designate Mr.

Maroš Šefčovič

Commissioner-designate Mrs.

Dubravka Šuica,

The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jeppe Kofod

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 272: Breve fra Europaudvalget til EU’s institutioner vedr. bidrag til konference om Europas fremtid

about the future of Europe

–

giving new insights to the political decision-mak-

ers.

The Danish Parliament would be very happy to share its experience in this

field with the European Commission, the European Parliament and others

and thereby contribute to design a conference on the future of Europe that

generates a genuine European debate of what it takes to create a more

united, stronger and democratic Union.

The European Affairs Committee of Danish Parliament believes that the fol-

lowing three topics would be key in any discussion about European democ-

racy and the future of Europe:



Rule of law and fundamental rights and values

The European Union is based on fundamental values and rights for

our citizens. These rights and values are currently being challenged

–

also in the sense that civil society organisations face difficulties

when participating in the democratic debate.

Transparency and better law making

There is an increasing will among citizens to engage in European po-

litical debate. This was proven by the high turnout at the European

Parliament elections in May 2019. However, we still need to increase

transparency of the

EU’s

decision-making in the legislative field. It is

too often too difficult

–

even for members of national parliaments

–

follow discussions about European legislative proposals. This espe-

cially includes deliberations in the Council working groups and in tril-

ogies between the European legislators in European Parliament and

the Council.

The role of national parliaments in European legislation

National parliaments play a critical role in ensuring ownership and

implementation of European decisions at national level. However,

there is still an untapped potential when it comes to involving national

parliaments in decision-making at European level. The political dia-

logue with the Commission was one step in the right direction. How-

ever, it needs to be further developed, for instance by agreeing with

the Commission to review legislative proposals in case of substantial

concerns by national parliaments. Additionally, early consultations

with national parliaments on upcoming proposals would lead to better



A copy of this letter has been sent to:

Commissioner-designate Mr.

Maroš Šefčovič

Commissioner-designate Mrs.

Dubravka Šuica,

The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jeppe Kofod

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 272: Breve fra Europaudvalget til EU’s institutioner vedr. bidrag til konference om Europas fremtid

law making and to an increased engagement of citizens through na-

tional dialogue on EU legislation.

I sincerely hope that you will take these issues into consideration in the prep-

arations of the conference on the future of Europe.

Yours sincerely,

Eva Kjer Hansen

Chair of the European Affairs Committee

A copy of this letter has been sent to:

Commissioner-designate Mr.

Maroš Šefčovič

Commissioner-designate Mrs.

Dubravka Šuica,

The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jeppe Kofod