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Times Online - Comment

Democracy in the EU
From Mr Richard Nice
Sir, Miss Paula Volkmer (letter, Jan-uary 14) claims that the EU is democratic and disputes that we are governed by officials who are “unelected and unaccountable”. As only the European Commission can initiate and implement law, it is the true seat of government; there can be no dispute that it is unelected. In a democracy, the executive must be accountable to a sovereign parliament or to the ballot box; the Commission is neither.

Perhaps, as she claims, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament do have equal powers, but only to accept or reject what is on offer. The Council conducts its business in secret and a national position can just disappear. MEPs are distant because they are nominated by parties and have constituencies several times larger than those of MPs. And the citizen cannot vote out the Commission, his real government.

To make matters worse for us in Britain, although 60 per cent of our legislation comes direct from Brussels, it is reported that “British ministers are EU part-timers” (headline, November 19, 2004); and when Parliament’s scrutiny committee on EU legislation “calls for a debate on the floor of the House, this is invariably refused by ministers” (Bill Cash’s Comment, August 25, 2004).

Comparing this position with that in 1973, when political parties began transferring powers to Brussels, there is no doubt that our lawmakers are now more remote and unaccountable, and that democracy is greatly diminished.

Yours faithfully,
RICHARD NICE,