Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-15-Speech-3-043"

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"en.20041215.2.3-043"2
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"Mr President, the EU Constitution and Turkey constitute a mismatch. Common citizenship and votes according to population figures will destroy the EU and give rise to dominance by the big powers. I want to see a Europe in which large and populous nations are able to operate better in conjunction with small countries. I do not understand how the Dutch Presidency can put its name to a communications strategy that will take money from opponents of the Constitution and make it available for propaganda on the part of adherents of the Constitution. That is in conflict with the principle of equality and is thus illegal. It is scandalous. The money used for propaganda is there for the purpose of selling an undemocratic Constitution to the electorate. It would be easier to ensure that the democracy we are losing in the Member States were at least combined in an open and democratic EU that was close to the people. The EU Constitution makes it incredibly difficult to amend the contents of laws. Any change to one of the numerous policies locked into the Constitution must first be proposed by unelectable Commissioners in Brussels and then be based upon a qualified majority in the Council of Ministers or, if appropriate, a unanimous amendment to the Constitution. That is not democracy. The undemocratic Constitution is, then, to be sold through an undemocratic distribution of funds for the purpose of providing information, so that people do not manage to discover that, crucially, they are losing what is at the very heart of democracy: the right to go to the polls and obtain a new majority and, subsequently, a new policy. Whether the solution to the democratic deficit is a federal bicameral system or, alternatively, our vision of a Europe of democracies is something that people should discuss and should decide in free and fair referendums in all the Member States. We rightly demand that Ukraine hold free and fair elections. Should that not also apply to ourselves?"@en1

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