Fifty Irish citizens, selected by an independent polling company to reflect a cross-section of Irish society, deliberated all weekend on the topical question: “What do you think the EU can – and should - do to shape our economic and social future in a globalised world?” 

Opening the event, the Minister of State  for European Affairs, Dick Roche said:  “Today is not a day for political speeches.  Today is a day for political listening…
We will listen with great interest – not just to what you say here this weekend but to what comes out of this process”.
 
 

With the help of facilitators, experts and special polling technology, the citizens arrived at recommendations which they tested with a panel of Irish MEPs at the end of the consultation today. There to respond to their proposals were Dublin MEPs Eoin Ryan, Gay Mitchell and Proinsias De Rossa  as well as East MEP Mairead McGuinness.

Delegates from the Irish event will join citizens from all over Europe at an EU citizens' summit in Brussels in May where the top ten recommendations to have emerged from all the national consultations will be put to EU leaders in advance of the European Parliament elections in June.

National Recommendations

1. We propose that there be stronger regulation of financial institutions by the EU. This could be done through the ECB by implementing the recent De La Rosiere Report to establish the European Systemic Risk Council. There should be a standardised EU training, qualification and licensing system for financial institution officials.

2. We call upon the Commission, the Parliament and the Council to improve information on health systems across Europe by:

a. Compiling standards of healthcare best practice and to disseminate these in a patient friendly manner (this should include mental, community and preventative healthcare).
b. Recognising patient mobility as a core component of the freedom to avail of services EU wide and to ensure that patients are not treated as commodities (patient focused)
c. Devoting more money to healthcare research
d. Developing and implementing an independent mechanism for EU wide recognition of medical qualification in recognition of freedom of services.

3. We propose that the EU have a Commissioner for Ethics. This Commissioner would be responsible for promoting and enforcing a code of ethics for politicians, public institutions, electoral funding, elections, appointed officials, quangos, lobbying and for maintaining a register of lobbyists, at EU and Member State levels.

4. We call on the European Commission to look at identifying best practice labour legislation across Europe in order to minimise unemployment during a downturn (e.g. job sharing schemes etc.).

5. We call on the European Commission to introduce European Studies, starting at National School level, to ensure greater integration and learning across all Member States. This would be facilitated through the twinning of schools and the provision of laptops in every European classroom, with adequate broadband connections, which would create a window into Europe (i.e. via Skype).

6. We call on the EU to set up a central EU committee to establish best practice across Europe and worldwide which will make information easily available through websites, publications, booklets etc.  This would involve setting up national committees which would feed best practice into the central EU committee.  The objectives would include making information easily available to citizens and governments who can compare and contrast practice with other countries. Give the commissioner in charge of Information and Communication Technology the task of setting these committees up and databases

7. We call on the Commission and MEPs to:

a. Make the Lisbon treaty more accessible to the people by rewriting it as a single self contained stand alone summary document. This should be presented to the Irish Referendum Commission for confirmation of its accuracy and to disseminate this to the electorate
b. Increase EU resources to enable the EU to ensure countries implement directives in the timeframe defined in the directive to produce EU documents in plain language rather than 'eurospeak'
c. Make information on the work of the EU more accessible to all.

8. Establish a 2020 Objective for EOL (End of Life) implementation in ALL industries, utilising the white goods/vehicle process and mechanisms already established. This would involve:
a. Review and categorisation of the most damaging industries to the environment and use this as an input into phasing the programme.
b. Establishment of a licensing mechanism for companies
c. Enforce companies to extend the product lifecycle from Day 1 design right through to disposal
d. Develop recycling programme for each industry, similar to WEE for electrical goods.
e. Alternative Green Energy:
i. Investment in the knowledge society (education and training) for ALL roles associated with the implementation of wind/wave/solar and other green energy sources.
ii. Exponential increases annually in spend in grants in alternative energy sources
iii. 2020 - Increase the current objective (20% of all energy to be green sources) to 25%. Investment in a communications strategy to support this - specifically a European Schools Education programme to inform the next generation on the importance of alternative energy sourced

9. We call upon the EU today to set aside a dedicated European Young Peoples Activity Day based on the German Bundesjugend Spiel and that they recommend that all primary and secondary schools take part. This would involve input from the Dept of Education and Dept of Health.
a. The objectives include recording results to indicate variations from year to year. These variations could be an early indication of something wrong health wise.
b. This would also promote activity among youth and give a positive fun image to the EU.
 

10.Increase social protection for vulnerable members of society
a. The EU should have as its priority that in times of economic recession, vulnerable groups in society are supported financially and socially e.g. Disabled people, carers, unemployed, homeless etc
b. Establish a budgetary union which would make visible each countries budgetary spends on vulnerable communities
c. Union would publish tables of ratings by country of spend as a % of GDP
d. Review effectiveness of the sanctions (financial and otherwise) that are already in place. Include name and shame for countries who are not investing in vulnerable communities or reducing spend in these communities
e. Redefining Vulnerable; Communities on a country-by-country basis to take into account cultural communities