Together

In my opinion, the growing Euroscepticism requires a faster and more assertive response. Adding an electoral link between the population and the European Commission may be the most effective method of reversing the mentioned disbelief. The European executive chief, the President of the Commission, is seen as one of the main faces of the project and therefore should be more accountable for it. An elected President of the European Commission would share the responsiveness burden with the European Parliament, would become directly scrutinized by the people for its political actions and would have superior arguments when forced to negotiate. By promoting this bond, citizens would be re-engaged in European politics: more interest, participation, commitment and belief, less populism and nationalist rhetoric. The European Union cannot avoid to address these problems; and the best way to tackle them is by bring the citizens back into European politics and give them voice

Voting directly European Parties and not the symbols of national parties may help Europeans feel closer to EU and its politics. A campaign made by the European parties on concrete themes may also change the way people consider the EU.

For me it is clear that our political family has to engage in a recruiting narrative for the 21st century, innovating our traditional values of redistribution and social justice, making them fit for the challenges we face. Socialists and democrats have always been in the business of minimising risks for everyone. We have entered a new area with totally new risks. Therefor we need a new socialism, a new social democracy on a new level: A European Union that transcends the economic logic to become a Union of shared values, shared welfare and shared risks. The place where we do our work, in parliament or government, should be transparant and citizens should be able to hold us to account. And last but not least, if we choose to organise democratic participation we should definitely avoid fake consultations.