"It's our Europe: Let's get active!
Seminar organised by the European Ombudsman on the occasion of the
European Year of Citizens
Brussels, 23 April 2013, 09:30-12.30
Welcome speech by P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, European Ombudsman

Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen! A very warm welcome to you all to this interactive event entitled "It's our Europe: Let's get active!"

I note that we are organising this event in the framework of the "European Year of Citizens 2013". Today's focus, therefore, is on citizens and their active participation in shaping Europe and its future.

I am very happy to welcome the representatives of several citizens' initiatives, grassroots movements, and complainants to the European Ombudsman, who are all contributing, in different ways, to changing the world in which we live. We very much look forward to hearing what they have to say and how they will engage with the topic of our event.

I am really sorry that unanticipated changes in President Schulz's agenda effectively prevent him from being with us today, as scheduled. His presence in this event last year, along with those of President Barroso and the President of the Council of the EU, Mrs Thorning-Schmidt, greatly added to the success of our efforts to involve citizens directly in a substantive dialogue with the institutions over ongoing developments profoundly affecting their lives and the future of the Union. 

On the other hand, we are delighted, indeed, that the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mrs Isabelle Durant, has kindly agreed to join us today, thereby ensuring that the only democratically-elected EU institution is represented at this European Ombudsman event at the top level.

Mrs Durant is well known for her very active engagement with civil society and, as such, is ideally suited for the task at hand.  We are, therefore, grateful for her presence and very much look forward to hearing her views on citizens' participation in the European Union.

A further expression of gratitude should also be extended to the European Parliament itself for, once again, generously allowing us to profit from its hospitality and to make use of this august building for our annual event reaching out to as a wide a range of European citizens as possible. In this connection, I wish to note that, for the very first time, this event is being held not only here in Brussels, but also in almost every European Parliament Information Office throughout Europe. I would like to welcome the citizens who have joined us in Bratislava and Berlin, in Prague and Paris, as well as in every other European capital. We look forward to receiving contributions to our discussion, via Twitter, from every Information Office, and from everyone else watching online.

I am also delighted that the Vice-President of the European Commission, Ms Viviane Reding, is here with us today and, is, once again, honouring us with her participation in a major Ombudsman event. Ms Reding stands at the forefront of the Commission's dialogue with EU citizens. In recent months, she has travelled throughout the Union to meet with thousands of citizens and to listen to their concerns. Whether in Germany or in Greece, she really makes a point of talking with the citizens and not just about them.

For the second half of the event, we will welcome another Commission Vice-President, Mr Maros Šefčovič. Mr Šefčovič is, among other things, responsible for the European Citizens' Initiative. I am sure we will hear a lot about ECIs today. We look forward to hearing Mr Šefčovič's insights on this new and important citizens' right.

I would finally also like to welcome my colleague, Mr Marc Bertrand, the Ombudsman of Wallonia and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, as well as Mr Chris Burns from Euronews, whom I wish to thank for agreeing to act as the moderator of today's event.

Before we start, let me share some reflections with you. We are meeting here today against the backdrop of the worst crisis the European Union has ever faced. The serious economic problems and challenges that my own country, as well as many other Member States, have to cope with constitute an important dimension of this crisis. Every day, it seems, we receive more bad news not only concerning the international financial markets, but also about growing social unrest linked to the austerity measures being implemented in a number of Member States.

As severe as the economic crisis is for the future of both the Euro and the European Union itself, there, nevertheless, exists a second aspect of the crisis which deserves careful attention: citizens all over the EU are losing trust in the ability not only of national governments but also of the European Union to find solutions to the current problems. I am most concerned about this situation, especially given that part of my own mission is to enhance trust between European citizens and the EU administration.

But it is one thing to sit and wait until the national governments or the EU institutions have reacted to these problems by taking certain initiatives, and quite another for citizens to act proactively and take positive measures themselves. The Lisbon Treaty provides for increased citizens' participation, for example, in the framework of the European Citizens' Initiative and the Commission's public consultations. These are indeed crucial steps forward on the long road to upholding and strengthening the right of citizens to participate in the democratic life of the European Union.

I receive many citizens' complaints about problems in these areas. I consider this to be a good sign because such complaints allow me to discover potential deficiencies in the EU administration concerning instruments available to citizens for increased participation; they also help me in trying to rectify problems when these arise. Put otherwise, I am happy to contribute to strengthening citizens' participation in the EU and we will hear later how complaints to the Ombudsman can make a real difference.

Today's event is about what citizens can do, partly at least, to take their fate into their own hands and to contribute to shaping the European Union and its future. There are many ways to do this: using EU instruments such as the European Citizens' Initiative, or, alternatively, mobilising large groups of citizens to carry out grassroots activities easily come to mind. In an attempt to approach the matter creatively, we will not only focus on the economic crisis and on ways to help solve it. We will also look at the important topic of how to build a clean and healthy Europe - an issue that concerns every European citizen.

I very much look forward to participating in this ground-breaking, citizen-centred interactive debate and to drawing inspiration from comments and suggestions from all of you, whether here in Brussels or from the 30 capitals and cities throughout the EU that have joined us on this occasion.

In doing so, we are also collectively demonstrating the concrete benefits for EU citizens deriving from the Treaty of Lisbon and from its multiple provisions for sustained consultation and dialogue between them and the EU institutions and are making a modest but tangible contribution to the quality of democracy in the European legal order.

Thank you very much!