Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
European election debates begin next week
As an interested European may I draw attention to the following information?
Candidates for the Presidency of the European Commission are to take part in two European Presidential election debates in the coming weeks.
The debates will be televised and streamed on websites — the first from Maastricht at 19h00 CET on 28 April and the second from Brussels at 21h00 CET on 15 May.
For details of the Maastricht debate see http://www.eudebate2014.eu/ and for the Brussels debate see http://www.eurovisiondebate.tv/
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Germana on
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Thanks Dick!
TBD - the debate in this country's press is not really about the European Parliament elections but rather about whether the UK should be in or out which is a different matter that won't be solved by the May elections.
The key point is that in May we are electing representatives to the EU Parliament, which will then go on (for the first time ever) to nominate the President of the European Commission. So every vote matters (particularly under a proportional system), and the choice we make matters. The European Parliament has a key role in amending EU policies that range from consumer protection (such as abolishing roaming charges across Europe) to environmental protection, or how to spend aid money. Different parties have different agendas for all these issues, and it's important to understand the difference between them as there is absolutely nothing in the current mainstream press debate here that is helping people understand what is at stake, and make decisions based on real facts.
Unfortunately, in the UK voter turnout for EU Parliament elections tends to be extremely low thanks to the press ignoring this institution or even worse making up stuff about it, which in turn enables extremist parties that would normally not get much traction in national elections to do very well.
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Permalink Reply by Pamela Harling on
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Hi Dick! Yes thanks for the reminder about the EC presidency and also the one from Germana that on 22 May we have the chance to elect our Members of the European Parliament. There are some important decisions coming up about clean energy in particular and the negotiating stance for the climate talks being held in Paris next year. So its good to know how the potential candidates line up with your views on these subjects.
More info here http://www.elections2014.eu/en
Germana is right we need to get clued up and go and vote on 22 May (the same day as the local elections). Its a proportional voting system so every vote counts.
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