I felt that question needed a reminder that it was Commission President at issue, not the vaguely-understood Lisbon new Council President.

Well, what would you suggest? Leave the uninformed voters out? That was one of the two main theoretical reasons why vote was related to a minimal income in the 19th Century (considering that in general property=education, on the one side, and that it you don´t have property shouldn´t be deciding on othr people's property, on the other).

I´m exagerating, I know you don´t mean that, but...

I mean, let´s be fair, European Union has a very deep citizenship problem, with most of the Europeans uninformed AND uninterested. Democratization of institutions must be done taking into account this situation, that in fact helps options 1) based in demagogic discourses easy to understand and feel; 2) with very good marketing campaign; and 3) based in national -NOT European- issues [Spain example, agree or not with Zapatero anticrisis plan]

What EU can do is:

1. Try to be democratic but, wit resoect of the development of European political culture, not expecting too much in few time.
   
2. Promote European political culture. HOWEVER: EU political system (if you can consider it so, I still don´t) is being built in a sociopolitical context of general desinterest about politics. Don´t expect citizens that don´t believe in "sound", "long-lasting" political systems to be emotionally and even rationally involved in a political system (the European) that copy liberal democracy schemes, just in a bigger scope and with more complicated procedures. EU system isn´t nowadays something in which development you can see the way out of the crisis of liberal democracy.

"If you don't want a man unhappy politically, don't give him two sides to a question to worry him; give him one. Better yet, give him none." (Fahrenheit 451)

Well, transport of animals across borders is kind of a wooly issue. In Denmark, you can barely go two hundred km without hitting a border, after all, while in Germany or France, you can go a thousand km or more and never see one.

A cap on the duration of transport of live animals (and regulation of the ways they are transported) would make more sense.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.