Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13840 | 01 July 2015

Democracy and the European Union

Signatories: Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Boriana ÅBERG, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT, Spain, EPP/CD ; Ms Eka BESELIA, Georgia, SOC ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Ms Aleksandra DJUROVIĆ, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Tuur ELZINGA, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Claudio FAZZONE, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Francesco Maria GIRO, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Matjaž HANŽEK, Slovenia, UEL ; Ms Arpine HOVHANNISYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Johannes HÜBNER, Austria, NR ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Mr Ögmundur JÓNASSON, Iceland, UEL ; Mr Giorgi KANDELAKI, Georgia, EPP/CD ; Ms Stella KYRIAKIDES, Cyprus, EPP/CD ; Mr Olof LAVESSON, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Pierre-Yves LE BORGN', France, SOC ; Mr George LOUKAIDES, Cyprus, UEL ; Mr Edgar MAYER, Austria, EPP/CD ; Mr Luc RECORDON, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Rovshan RZAYEV, Azerbaijan, EPP/CD ; Ms Elisabeth SCHNEIDER-SCHNEITER, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Mr Mher SHAHGELDYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Ms Chiora TAKTAKISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Mr Attila TILKI, Hungary, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Since the Treaty of Lisbon, the Treaty of the European Union contains the obligation to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5): “The Union shall accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”

The Europe Union already subjects its member States to an annual check on democracy, but nobody scrutinises the European Union at the moment.

Over the last few years the European Union has taken up a large number of extra duties, like a monetary union, a banking union, a capital markets union and an energy union. Ever more competences are transferred to the European level of decision making, even though notionally the European Union adheres to subsidiarity.

The democratic control and oversight of expenditure by the European Parliament has increased over the years. Still, the oversight on instruments like the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) by the European Parliament, national parliaments and European Court of Auditors (ECA) is not optimal. And large sums of taxpayers’ money are involved. Similar problems arise in the banking union: the ECA has no access to the oversight of the European Central Bank in the banking union.

In a democracy it is dangerous that decisions with very large financial consequences are taken without proper democratic oversight and control.

The Parliamentary Assembly should study the democratic oversight and deficiencies in the European Union.