CYPRIOTS may be political animals par excellence, but when it comes to the European Parliament elections, they buck the trend and say: je m’en fous?
Should we care about the euro elections which will be held on June 6? Most definitely so, says Phedon Nicolaides, a professor at the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht.
“What happens in the halls of the European Parliament affects us all, from the price of electricity to the quality of the water that we drink.
“When it comes to Cyprus though, people may wave their hand and wonder what difference a country can make when it has just six MEPs out of a total of 785. Up to a point, that’s understandable.”
MEPs sometimes argue that more people would vote if political parties, which are usually preoccupied with national politics, put more effort into their European election campaigns – and if national media took more interest in the EU.
Turnout at euro elections has traditionally been very low – some would say shockingly so. Four years ago, the average participation in the then 15 EU member countries fell below 50 per cent.
Luxembourg put all to shame with a 90 per cent turnout.
Closer to home, and despite popular perception to the contrary, our turnout was actually relatively high, reaching 71 per cent and well over the EU average. Contrast that with Austria’s 41.8 per cent and Finland’s 41.1 per cent, and all of a sudden it seems that Cypriots are actually eager beavers.
But the notion is tempered once you look at our participation in national elections, where it hovers around the 90 per cent mark. Clearly, what goes on in Brussels does not “sell” as much as who gets to govern the country.
Governing everything is the question, how useful is the European Parliament?
According to the accepted wisdom, the European Parliament lacks muscle, since decision-making is left to the Council of Ministers, i.e. the national governments.
Admittedly, things have changed. These days the European Parliament has increased powers, and is a co-decider on legislation along with the Council of Ministers on matters concerning both the internal market and the annual EU budget.
Perhaps a little-known fact is that almost 50 per cent of national legislation today originates in Brussels
“I guess that’s something most people don’t realise,” says Iosif Iosif, professor of Political Science at the University of Cyprus.
“So in response to the perennial question, yes, Brussels does matter.”
As to whether that means power to the people, the answer is both yes and no. The parliament sometimes takes a stand on issues which affect the EU’s relations with foreign countries, such as Washington’s request for personal data on passengers flying to the US. MEPs have insisted that EU data protection rules must not be violated.
The European Commission is the initiator of all community legislation. The Commission takes a proposal to the Council of Ministers, which then consults with the European Parliament.
The fact remains, however, that Europeans don’t get too motivated when the euro elections come up.
“To the average Cypriot, Brussels is a faraway place that has no impact on their daily lives. People don’t get worked up over a contest that is not nearly as partisan as, say, national elections,” says Iosif.
A provincial mindset is largely to blame, although this cuts across most European countries.
“If you look at the media coverage of the European Parliament, it makes the news whenever an item has something to do with the Cyprus problem or Turkey. Look at the coverage afforded to the parliament’s draft report on Turkey’s accession progress. So much more is happening in Brussels, but does it ever come out?”
Politicians themselves are none too thrilled with this state of affairs. Getting a seat in the European Parliament is only half the battle won, said MEP Kyriacos Triantafyllides.
“It’s extremely important for MEPs to feel they are legitimate representatives of their countries. Believe me, you are constantly reminded of this by your peers in the parliament. The more people you have behind you, the more people you can claim to represent, and that gives an MEP greater drive.”
