Politicians in Brussels have shown once again that they are refusing to listen to what voters are actually telling them, warned ECR Danish MEP Morten Messerschmidt following a vote in the European Parliament today.
MEPs in the Constitutional Affairs Committee were adopting their position on the ‘Future of Europe’ debate that was launched last year by the European Commission following the anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.
Included within the adopted report were calls to remove Member States’ veto on the size of the overall EU budget and grant the EU tax raising powers, take away Member States’ veto on foreign policy and for the European Parliament to be given the right to initiate legislation.
“You would think that when one of your largest Member States votes to leave the EU it would prompt a series of reflections on where you might be going wrong. However, the action being called for today just shows that once again politicians in Brussels are refusing to listen to what a majority of voters are actually telling them. To blame national governments, political parties and their electorate for the EU’s unpopularity when they are simply holding them to account is as astonishing as it is ridiculous,” said, speaking after the vote, Messerschmidt.
“We should be focussing in Brussels on key areas such as trade, the environment, internal security and the single market. Instead we’re just seeing a rehashing of the same old and tired ideas of EU federalists who have become completely detached from what is being said in their countries. Voters aren’t calling for the EU to be given more power to raise taxes or to remove national vetoes on foreign policy and the budget, so politicians shouldn’t either,” he added.
The report will now pass to the Parliament’s main chamber for vote in the coming months.
