letter to the editor from Richard Corbett MEP |
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5 July 2005 |
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Hull Daily Mail |
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Sir, Strictly speaking, Christopher Fox is quite right to pull me up for referring to the government as “elected”. It is the House of Commons which is elected: the Queen then appoints the Prime Minister who in turn appoints individual ministers. What is crucial, however, is that the government must enjoy the confidence of the elected chamber of Parliament. In countries such as ours, where electing a particular Parliamentary majority invariably leads to a corresponding choice of government, it is understandable that people consider the government to be “elected”. In many countries, this link is not so clear. In the Netherlands, for instance, Parliamentary elections are followed by lengthy negotiations to see who can gain a majority in Parliament in order to form a government. Similarly at European level: although the link to the European Parliament election results is not very visible, the European Commission must have the confidence of the European Parliament to take ofice and can be removed by a vote of no-confidence. Mr Fox is right that the Commission alone can initiate legislative proposals at EU level – but the European Parliament and the Council can request it to do so. These proposals can only become law if they are approved by national government ministers in the Council and by elected MEPs – two important democratic safeguards. Now, to elect the Council, as Mr Fox suggests, would mean duplicating the European Parliament and eliminating national governments from EU decision taking – not something that even the keenest of federalists would support! Richard Corbett MEP |
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