Translated material
Europe was paralyzed
Bureaucrats and technocrats have forgotten about the people
After the failure of the European constitution in referendums in France and the Netherlands in late May and early June, the European Union is looking for those responsible for the current state of affairs. The EU summit on June 16 in Brussels will also be dedicated to this. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Nicolas Schmit, whose country holds the EU presidency for this half-year, warned yesterday that the situation is very serious and the European Union must not be allowed to "slide into the abyss of crisis and paralysis of European institutions." It is expected that the summit in Brussels will develop emergency measures to save the European Union.The main executive body of the EU, the European Commission (EEC), is showing noticeable activity in finding those to blame. The object of her criticism is both European politicians who organized plebiscites “for the sake of their own selfish interests” and voters who showed “narrow-minded conservatism” and did not appreciate the 850-page brainchild of Brussels. At the same time, it is forgotten that the leaders of the European Union countries were, after all, elected by their own people, and no one elected the European Commission and its apparatus.
It seems that the main cause of the crisis was the notorious “democratic deficit” - the isolation of the European Commission and its agenda from the ordinary voter. According to the remark of one of the CEC representatives, made, however, on a different occasion, in modern conditions “leaders” cannot wait every time for the moment when society and the elites are ready to fully support their initiatives. And therefore, it is necessary to act without regard to the inevitably delayed public opinion.
Therefore, over the past 10-15 years, the process of European integration has become more and more like riding a bicycle - as long as you pedal, you won’t fall. The commission acted as the helmsman, and the technical condition of the vehicle, the well-being of passengers and their “selfish” wishes were ignored.
Brussels has acquired a new quality - the capital of United Europe and the habitat of the European bureaucracy. The efficiency and energy of European Commission officials have made the “European quarter” - a cluster of administrative buildings around Schumann Square in Brussels - a center for making major decisions and a source of initiatives aimed at normative rapprochement between EU countries and strengthening Europe's role in the world.
At the same time, Brussels “eaten away” powers from national governments and parliaments and seized new levers for regulating economic activity in common market countries.
CES staff indeed demonstrated the ability to work faster and more accurately than national bureaucracies. The solutions they proposed seemed more literate for use within the EU and technically proven in cases where they concerned strengthening Europe's influence on neighboring countries. One of the latest triumphs was the preparation of plans for a Common Economic Space with Russia, which makes it possible to resolve all issues “expeditiously” without attracting undue public attention.
“A matter of technology” was the largest expansion of the EU last year by ten new countries - from 15 to 25 members. Checking the compliance of candidate countries with the so-called. The Copenhagen criteria - the framework standards for suitability for membership in the European Union - were entrusted to the CES, which thus acquired the role of an independent political player. As a result, Brussels technocrats became confident in their ability to make any, even the most important, strategic decisions.
And the text of the constitutional treaty itself was prepared by wise men in the civil service in isolation from the population of the European Union countries. It was based on certain higher goals, and the specific parameters of the document were prepared in the CEC, which in itself contributed to the removal of the romantic flair from the constitution.
Nothing romantic came of it. As a result of almost a year and a half of work, a document was produced, the volume of which, including appendices, amounted to about 850 pages. The “European Dream” was embodied in 448 articles, 36 additional protocols, two annexes and 50 declarations.
Guided by bureaucratic logic, the European Commission stuffed the document with details. The articles of the constitution, impeccably executed from a technical point of view, turned out to be completely incomprehensible even for advanced citizens of the European Union.
This is not surprising. Entrusting policy development to a technocrat bureaucrat is the same as entrusting the overall management of a company to an accountant. Everything will be done on time, with strict adherence to standards, neatly decorated, but devoid of strategic vision.
The “deficit of democracy” - an inevitable evil and a systemic error of the technocratic management system - inevitably makes itself felt, becoming, sooner or later, a brake on the entire process. As a rule, this manifests itself in elections when voters refuse to support initiatives adopted without taking their opinion into account. In those countries where citizens are rarely given the opportunity to influence the government directly, they are forced to simply sabotage initiatives that are inconvenient for them.