The EU must be wary of anything which may further distance EU voters from Brussels warned ECR co-chairs Syed Kamall and Ryszard Legutko.

The EU must be wary of anything which may further distance EU voters from Brussels warned ECR co-chairs Syed Kamall and Ryszard Legutko following Jean-Claude Juncker’s announcement today on the future of EU institutional issues, ahead of the informal Summit in Brussels next week:

Speaking after the announcement, Kamall said:

“The EU is at a crucial cross-roads and Mr Juncker should be wary of anything which may further distance EU voters from Brussels. Any future proposals from Brussels should ask one crucial question: ‘is this what voters really want?’.

“The decisions made here in Brussels should help strengthen our economic growth and our security, and not simply facilitate the favoured projects of a select few. We keep hearing the word ‘reform’ from the EU Commission, but we have yet to see sufficient progress, just more of the same old calls for ‘more Europe’.

“The ECR Group believes that the EU should focus on getting the basics right. We need to find solutions to the migration crisis that all Member States can sign up to; make decision-making more transparent and not alienate citizens further by having them represented by transnational MEPs; and increase the exchange of information between countries to improve internal security, while living within our means. These are issues that voters expect us to address.”

Expressing his own concern, ECR Group co-Chair Legutko said:

“Europe’s biggest strength is treating all its members equally and respecting the opinions of all those sat around the table. The leaders of every EU Member State government, representing their voters, must have a say on who will be President of the EU Commission.

“Disregarding those Member States with genuine concerns and supporting instead a process where little known European political parties nominate candidates for Commission President, who do not appear anywhere on a ballot paper, weakens the whole EU and further distances it from voters.

“When it comes to the EU budget and with it coming under pressure following the loss of UK contributions, we need to ensure that everything we spend is delivering value for money and going to those regions that need it most. We can’t expected taxpayers to keep paying for current levels of spending without committing to meaningful reform of current spending programmes.”