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This is a good example of the EU democratic deficit. The legislation is proposed by the member states, by their not directly elected executive branches, and the directly elected Parliament has no say. Unacceptable, if you ask me. And the substance of it: way to go. A Patriot Act is just what Europe now needs.

The world's northernmost desert wind.
by Sirocco (sirocco2005ATgmail.com) on Fri Jun 17th, 2005 at 10:51:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Since Third Pillar affairs are intergovernmental agreements, publics have only one recourse...contact your local member of parliament and/or complain through national governmental channels. Pressure on national governments has the possibility to sway decisions by member states in third pillar areas. So there is a democratic channel for public participation; however, the problem is that these issues never get put before the publics in national political discourses. They are seen as technical issues.

As a long-time fan of the EP, I'd prefer to see most of these third pillar areas communitised into first pillar...but that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

by gradinski chai on Fri Jun 17th, 2005 at 11:33:47 PM EST
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