Europe United's President Bengt Beier today said that the European Parliament's reluctance to accept certain commissioners shows once again that the European Commission needs to be elected democratically.

"While the European Parliament has the right to question the appointing of commissioners, it still lacks the power to decide over who becomes commission President and who fills the most important positions in the European Union. Neither the Parliament nor the European people really have a voice here. What we'll need are real European parties which propose their candidates for key positions in the European Union before the elections, to the people have a choice when they go to the polls."

Through the "Five Demands" (www.fivedemands.eu) and other campaigns, Europe United proposes that in future, the European commission should be elected by the European Parliament and that the European parties should propose their candidates for the European Commission before the European elections. This should be combined with more rights for the European Parliament to control the Commission and with more dialogue with citizens.