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WOBLDWA!OH
An Overview of Major News Events and Trends
EUROPE'S
"SUPER-PARLIAMENT"
SET FOR'78
Common Market heads of govern–
ment, hoping to revive the fading
dream of a united Europe, have ap–
proved a formul a allowing the 253
million citizens of the European
Community (EC) to directly elect a
multinationa l parliament in 1978.
This histo rie move has breathed
new life into a vision seemingly
sha ttered by nationa l and regiona l
interests.
Breaking a months-long sta le–
mate, the heads of government
reached agreement on July 12, dur–
ing the course of one of th eir thrice–
yearly summits. Their plan cal ls for
a directly c lected legislature of 410
members to replace the present
none lected Eu ropean pa rlia ment of
198 de lega tes. The enla rged pa rlia–
men t would ho ld a llegiance to no
sin gle na tiona l government, but to
the EC as a who le.
For the first time , the way will be
opcn fo r the Europea n man-in-the–
street to have a direct say in the
a ffa irs of the Continent.
The
Times
of London termed the
brea k th rou gh "clea rly an even t
which could have a pro found effect
on th e whol e future developme nt of
the Communi ty." The president of
the current parliament, G eorge Spe–
na le o f F rance, decl a red : "July 12,
1976 will be a grea t da te
in
the his–
tory o f Europe."
The first e lections for the new
pa rli ament a re scheduled for May
or June 1978, with e lections every
four yea rs therea fter. The summit
agreement, which must still be ra ti–
fi ed by the va rious national parlia–
m e nts, leaves it up to member
na tions to work out the details o f
the election.
Unde r the agreement, the four
4
WILL Y BRANDT
was
first to declare
his candidacy for new EC Parliament.
la rgest EC member nations - West
Germany, ltaly, Britain, and Fra nce
- wou ld have 8 1 seats each. The
Ne th erla nds would have 25, Bel–
gium 24, Denmark 16, Ireland 15,
and Luxembourg 6. Of Britain 's 81 ,
up to 10 would probab ly come from
Sco tla nd , S from Wales. and 3 from
Northern Ire la nd - the mínimum
re p resentation believed requi red to
sa tisfy those increasingly indepen–
dence-minded a rcas.
Power to Grow?
Though th e princ ipie o f a direcly
e lected parliament was a pproved a t
an EC summit in Rome las t Decem–
be r, haggling ove r th c number and
distributi on o f scats de layed quick
action on the plan. Many obse rvers
be lieved the wrangling mi ght scuttle
the idea alLOgcth er.
Such bicke ring has been typical
of EC re la tions throughout its 18-
yea r existence. The continua ! deter–
mina tion o f na tiona l gove rnments
lo defend the ir own sovereignty
aga inst e nc roachment has lo ng
hamper ed the push fo r strong politi–
ca l institutions fo r the EC.
That is why the July summit
a g r eement has been so wide ly
hailed as a rea l breakthrough.
lt
has been commonly beli eved
for sorne yea rs that the EC - still
primarily a n economic entity - wilJ
not rea lly count for much in the
world until it acquires a
political
id entity . Until now. however, its po–
litical institutions have been given
little real power .
The present 198-membe r non–
elected parliament, fo r example, has
been little more than a glorified de–
ba ting socie ty. Its membe rs. who a re
appointed by their home leg isla–
tures, sit a lterna tcly in Strasbourg,
Fra nce, a nd in Luxembourg. Their
modest power lí es p r ima rily in th e
area o fcommunity budget contro l.
The big question now is whe ther
the new pa rliamcnt, once democra t–
ically e lected , will rece ive additiona l
powe rs from the EC's sovere ignty–
conscious mcmbe r governments.
Many obse rvers feel the pa rlia–
men t's powers a re bound to grow.
Th e me re fact tha t its members will
be directly e lected will undoubtedly
g ive them bo th the ímpetus and the
a uthority to effect cha ngcs.
Asked whether he expected the
new pa rli ament's powers to rema in
as limited as those o f the present
one, Dutch Premie r Joop den Uyl
q uickly repli ed : "No, ccrt a inly no t. "
A look a t thosc who have a lready
decla red the ir intenti ons to run fo r
the European parli ament givcs a n
ad vance indi ca tion o r its potentia l
powe r. F rcnch Socia li s t lead e r
Fran~ois
Mitte rra nd , Premie r Leo
Tindemans o f Belgium, and forrner
Wes t G erma n C ha ncello r Will y
Brandt have a lready th rown their
ha ts into the ring.
lt
is a lso be lieved
tha t two forme r British prime minis–
te rs - H a ro ld Wilson and Edward
Hea th - may a lso become candi–
da tes.
If men of this ca liber sit down
togethe r, some thing is bound to
happen . And there will be no ignor–
ing the ir decisions.
The
PLAIN TRUTH September 1976