Remedios Viviente, technician from the European General Directorate, has helped Eva Serna, head of Europe Direct, to open a new window to Europe at COPE Region of Murcia. They have analyzed together with Pedro González the importance of the electoral process that took place throughout Europe between June 6 and 9, which in the Region took place precisely on June 9.
The elections to the European Parliament are very important for the daily lives of citizens. “It must be remembered that the European Parliament is the institution that directly represents all the citizens of Europe. It is elected by direct universal suffrage every five years and is the only European institution that arises directly from the will of the citizens. It is also one of the three basic pillars that make up the classic triangle of institutions of the European Union together with the European Council and the European Commission,” Remedios Viviente recalled.
He also wanted to explain to the listener the functions of the European Parliament. “First of all, together with the Council, it adopts European legislation and together they also make the budget of the European Parliament. It also exercises a control function over other institutions.”
What happens after the elections
From there, Viviente’s assessment of the elections is as follows: “They are of great importance, because they begin a new chapter in the European Union and will determine the political orientations of the European Union. That is to say, our vote has decided which members of the European Parliament will represent us in the preparation of new laws, mainly directives and regulations.”
Some laws that affect citizens. “It is essential, because these laws will affect our daily and everyday lives. The European Union faces great challenges that no country alone can successfully face and the legislation addresses most of the issues that concern citizens; environment and climate change, the economy, migration policy, social policies, the rule of law and many more policies.
Important data
What happens in Europe is crucial, even on a day-to-day basis. “I would like to give a very interesting fact and that is that 53% of the laws approved in Spain by the Cortes Generales of 1019 to date derive from European decisions.”. Hence, they would have liked greater participation in the elections. “ANDn Spain has been 49.2% and the European average is 51.5%. Greater participation would have been desirable. I have to say that Spain is the fourth country in number of deputies. The Region of Murcia will have 3 MEPs. In the previous legislature there was only 1. There will be two MEPs from the PP and one from the PSOE.”
Viviente has told listeners what happens since the new representatives are elected. “A process of institutional renewal begins. The first plenary session will take place from July 16 to 19 in Strasbourg. Before this session, political groups are formed by ideological affinities, not by nationality. In that first session, the president and the rest of the members of the assembly. In another session, the proposal to vote on who will be the president of the European Commission is put to a vote.
Finally, he encouraged listeners to know what direct participation they can have with the institution. “Citizens can individually exercise the right to petition the European Parliament. They can present petitions or complaints on matters dealt with by Europe. This petitions commission analyzes and rules and processes if necessary. If someone considers that they have not received good treatment by European institutions, they can go to the Ombudsman.”
Parliament has a multimedia center on its website from which to follow the meetings and sessions of the committees. You can see the agendas and approved texts.
