Towards a European Party System

AuthorThomas Jansen
PositionGeneral Secretary H.C. European Movement
Pages97-105
The EuroAtlantic Union Review, Vol. 1 No. 1/2014
97
DOCUMENTS
Towards a European Party System
Thomas Jansen*
Public political debate and decision-making are basic to democracy, which
also enshrines citizens rights, if they wish, to become personally involved.
It is fundamental that people see the community in which they live as their
business, and to feel comfortable with that fact. e same goes for the
European Union, whose success depends on its citizens’ participation and
consent. e arguments over what shape and structure the Union should
take, its organization and function as well as the competition for power in and
between the EU’s institutions must be carried out in the open. is public
debate is carried on by rival political parties. As European integration deepens,
such parties represent a vital social force. But if they are to be eective they
need to organise themselves at the European level to represent the will and the
interests of their constituents - Union citizens.
Function and Role of Political Parties
Political parties in democratic systems of government are associations of
citizens. Operating under commonly agreed upon rules and procedures, their
members sign up for a programme which reects the expectations, ideas, and
interests of a segment of the population, large or small. is is in the hope of
* General Secretary H.C. European Movement

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