The European Parliament election proves the need for greater communication on Europe. The dec-reased turnout in some member states does not mean the European citizens are either satisfied or just don't care.
It means European and national politicians must work together and improve the tools for democracy. The upcoming meeting of European heads of state and government could be a turning point.
Citizens can influence and contribute to the shaping of European decisions - and European policies will be better for it! All that is needed are the right channels and the right tools.
This Commission has taken some important steps along this path. But what you most need is political leaders who have keen ears and who listen, act and deliver.
One month ago European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and I attended the first ever European citizens' summit. The participants were a cross section of citizens from all member states and all walks of life. Beforehand, thousands of people all over the EU had taken part in national meetings and discussions, not to mention 250,000 hits on a discussion forum website and more than 100 members of the European Parliament participating in national events.
The citizens at the summit agreed on 15 recommendations, for example on tackling global warming and phasing out fossil fuels; on an equal basic standard of health care; on ensuring equal pay for equal work regardless of gender or nationality; on combating social inequalities; and on simplifying education and vocational systems to make it easier for EU citizens to access them.
Some of these recommendations may come as a surprise to many politicians and member states. That's good! Without ideas and visions, daring suggestions and solutions politics won't develop.
The European citizens' summit arose from our Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate, launched in 2005. The purpose with Plan D was to help create a citizens' union. The citizens' summit is one successful example but there are many more. For example, more than 40,000 people have participated in transnational civil society projects and the first ever continent-wide deliberative poll has been conducted. We succeeded with interactive multimedia debates and we have the Debate Europe website with 150,000 posts and we developed our own YouTube channel EUtube with 14 million hits so far. Not to mention the around 500 meetings between commissioners and national Parliaments or the more than 100 local projects all over Europe reaching particularly women and young people - reaching people where they are.
This European summit will be a good opportunity for our heads of state and government to show that European democracy, dialogue and debate is just as important to them as national politics.
I want EU leaders to show the same commitment and responsibility in Europe as they do at home. We don't live in the EU for one month every five years just before the elections but all the time. So dare to discuss it and explain it all the time! I want EU leaders to always anchor EU policies in their political parties, national democratic traditions and daily political dialogue. Listen, explain and debate in your town halls, schools, regional assemblies, national Parliaments, on television shows or on the internet.
Make it clear to everyone that when it comes to the EU, you care to listen and dare to act!
The author is vice president of the European Commission.