A simple first-past-the-post vote in the @EUCouncil on which language to use would probably see each country voting for its own language. 3 would vote for French 🇫🇷, 2 for English 🇬🇧. French wins. But, can we really expect this decision to be consensual and accepted?
In the @EU_Commission, 85% of documents are first drafted in English 🇬🇧 and only 4% in French 🇫🇷, compared to 40% in 1997 (source: @lemondefr). @EUCouncil meetings now also commonly take place in English, attesting of participants' preference of English.
.@EUCouncil members' second or third linguistic choice (after their own national language) would reflect this strong preference for English 🇬🇧. Unlike first-past-the-post, more inclusive voting systems (#majorityjudgment, single transferable vote) lead to more accepted outcomes.
This example highlights the importance of going beyond people's 1st choice when making group decisions, as we do in democracies. Innovative voting systems can help better capture citizens' opinions & lead to more consensual outcomes (vs. simply the largest minority). @mieux_voter
And, just for those who still think that, since #French is official language in 3 countries, it ought to return to being the default language of the #EU, keep in mind that #German is official language in 4 Member States! #Germany#Austria#Belgium#Luxembourg 🇩🇪🇦🇹🇧🇪🇱🇺
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Over the past several years, @EDC_eudemocracy has made many, many requests to the European Parliament to access decisions by its Bureau on the funding of #europeanparties. These included decisions for funding (for the coming year) and final accounts (which wrap up the process).
Invariably, these documents were provided with heavy redactions over the parts covering the EP's reasoning for its decisions: we could see the outcome (amounts), but not how decisions were made. Until yesterday, the latest full document related to funding for 2015 -- 8 years ago.
To be clear, the point of this thread is *not* to argue that TNLs will make our common election less European, simply that they will not remedy the election's core deficiency (that national parties are in control) and that, therefore, they are not the right way forward. 3/25
Of course, "the @EU_Commission shall be completely independent" and "the members of the Commission shall neither seek nor take instructions from any Government". (Art. 17.3 TEU #LisbonTreaty). So there should be no need for #1country1commissioner rule. #IamEuropean 🇪🇺
Furthermore, "As from 1/11/2014, the @EU_Commission shall consist of a number of members [equal to] two thirds of the number of Member States" (Art. 17.5 TEU #LisbonTreaty)..... "unless the @EUCouncil [...] decides to alter this number". Which it did right away. #IamEuropean 🇪🇺
When we talk about simplifying administrative processes (#smartstate), we don't mean "big" things, just a collection of small things that contribute to making people's lives needlessly more complicated, especially abroad. Here's a silly example with a birth registration. 👇 1/7
A child is born in #Austria and registered with local authorities. Local authorities issue, for free, an original Austrian birth certificate in German and are thoughtful enough to include, for free, an original international birth certificate in multiple languages. 2/7
However, #French authorities will not accept the international birth certificate because it says "extract"; instead, they want a full version, even just in German. This requires us to book an appointment with local authorities and, this time, pay for a new original. 3/7