Aktuality
Press Release: Federal Assembly of the European Movement International welcomes new members, 3 December 2010
The Council of European Dentists (CED), the European Association of Retirement Schemes for Liberal Professions (EurelPro) and the Union of European Petroleum Independents (UPEI) have been admitted as members of the European Movement International (EMI).
On Friday 3 December 2010 the extraordinary Federal Assembly of the EMI voted in favor of all three applications for membership. CED, a European non-for-profit association which represents over 320,000 dentists across Europe and EurelPro, a European umbrella organisation of compulsory retirement schemes for registered liberal professions, applied for associated membership, while UPEI, the umbrella organisation of independent European oil traders, became a full member of the EMI.
Pat Cox, EMI President, welcomed the new members, considering their admission a "notable step to further strengthen and extend the network of the European Movement International".
In the framework of the annual EMI Members Council, which preceded the Federal Assembly, MEP Andrew Duff presented his report on the electoral reform of the European Parliament. Mr. Duff stressed that "a single European constituency with transnational lists, offering the possibility to vote for 25 additional MEPs during the EP elections in 2014, will not only help to personalise and Europeanise the election campaigns but also improve the quality of leadership in the Parliament".
During the subsequent debate, the participants voiced their support and acknowledgement for the ideas of Mr. Duff on the electoral reform but also critical remarks such as the concern that 25 MEPs elected on a pan-European basis would have different levels of legitimacy.
Richard Corbett, Member of the European Movement UK, particularly noted that "creating 25 transnationally elected members of the European Parliament needs a treaty change ratified by every single member state. The easier way forward is the link between the choice of President of the European Commission and the outcome of the European elections. Getting the transnational parties to put up a candidate ahead of the elections could be done without treaty change".
Pat Cox concluded the discussion on the electoral reform saying that in "addition to the high ambition of Europeanising the EP elections, one should not forget about the special duty of care on the Political Parties to try to insinuate themselves into the process as the parties are the key in creating a European public space, a pan European capacity".
Editor's Note: The meeting was chaired by Pat Cox, EMI President, and took place at the Representation of the European Commission to Belgium in Brussels.
For more information, please contact the secretariat: +32 (0)2 508 30 85, email: communication@europeanmovement.eu