Living in a democracy...

Publication date: 
Friday, June 15, 2012
Author: 
Koen Roovers
Media title: 
New Europe

In 'One year after the scandal' MEP Geringer de Oedenberg (S&D) makes a case in favour of the exposed MEP Adrian Severin (ex-S&D). In so doing she not only does a disservice to the European Parliament, but also to citizens across Europe who expect their elected representatives to act in the public interest.

Excerpt: 

Living in a democracy, one expects elected representatives to work in the public interest, not for their personal gain. The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) – a network of 200+ civil society groups and labour unions – is of the opinion that democracy is not so much going awry because of the role of popular media, but mainly because of the emergence of a political reality within the EU institutions where professional lobbyists play a far greater role than they do in any of the EU member states. It is not the 'mediacracy' sketched out by Ms Geringer, but the 'lobbycracy' portrayed by the Sunday Times, which we should be wary of.

Link to original article: 
http://www.neurope.eu/blog/living-democracy
Campaign: 
Code of Conduct EP