There has been a failure to relate European Union issues to the public's everyday concerns, writes Noel Treacy
On so many levels, the story of the European Union, which stretches back more than 50 years, is one of undeniable success. It has helped transform a wrecked and divided Continent into a realm of peace, prosperity and security.
It has delivered tangible benefits to its citizens, among them increased consumer choice, greater workplace protection and a cleaner environment. Ireland's own particular experience of EU membership is a mirror image of the larger success story, as our economy and society have flourished within a European setting.
And yet, notwithstanding these achievements, many Europeans are evidently discontented with, or simply disengaged from, the European Union. The implicit political contract that exists in national terms has not taken root at European level. In particular, there seems to be a perception that European decision-making is somehow the exclusive domain of an undemocratic elite, who operate at a remove from the general population.
This is exacerbated by media reports which conjure up a Union allegedly driven by bureaucratic folly or untoward designs on national sovereignty. This sense of public disenchantment with the EU was brought home to us most starkly by last year's referendum results on the constitutional treaty in France and the Netherlands.
Before that, our own experience of the Nice referendum reminded us of the need for greater engagement with the Irish public on European issues. Why has the story of the EU not been told as well as it should have been? Admittedly, the complexity of EU decision-making does not always make for a straightforward narrative. At times, the technical jargon and the level of detail involved can be off-putting. With 25 delegations gathered round the table in Brussels, this inevitably convolutes European deliberations.
This leads to EU activities being poorly understood by the public at large. Furthermore, while the EU system is inherently democratic - by virtue of the central role of national governments in decision-making as well as the growing influence of the European Parliament - it is, nonetheless, set up in a different way to national administrations.
It cannot operate as a classic parliamentary or presidential system. The European Parliament cannot play the same role that Dáil Éireann plays here. In order to reconcile so many different interests, an array of checks and balances needs to be deployed at European level.
It is understandable that people might be wary of a different set of democratic arrangements from the ones they are most familiar with. In another sense, the EU can be seen as a victim of its own success. An increasing number of Europeans have only ever known peace and prosperity. A certain complacency in democratic politics is perhaps inevitable when its success is taken for granted, and when the future of democracy is seen as a given.
This phenomenon is not unique to the EU sphere, and many European governments are also grappling with public disengagement at the national level.
However, these explanations only go so far. There has also been a failure to relate EU issues to the public's everyday concerns.
As any politician will tell you, all politics is local, and, unless the benefits of EU membership are clearly identifiable at the individual and community level, this sense of alienation between the EU and its citizens will persist.
We must also guard against allowing Brussels to be made a whipping boy for problems that lie outside the EU's area of competence.
Finding a way to bridge this gap between the EU and its citizens has become a real priority. The National Forum on Europe was established in 2001 as an independent organisation to keep EU issues under constant discussion. Since its inception the forum has played a vital role in promoting national debate on European issues. The forum has dealt with topics ranging from enlargement, to agricultural policy to the constitutional treaty, to name but a few.
We have also sought to bring a greater sense of immediacy to EU affairs by raising the profile of the EU in the Oireachtas. For example, Dáil business was dedicated exclusively to European affairs on Europe Day last May. That day was also used as an occasion for the public to question their elected representatives on EU issues.
The vibrant debate on the services directive has also shown how EU policies can excite and engage once they have been meaningfully related to real concerns.
In the longer-term, we are working to strengthen knowledge of the EU in our education system and in our civic information services. There has also been a sustained effort at the European level to bring the EU closer to its citizens.
The European Council agreed last June to open up to greater public scrutiny. We are also seeing more visits by EU commissioners to various parts of Ireland, which is welcome as a means of raising the profile of the EU institutions in Ireland. There is no need to become obsessive about Europe.
Our people have a broad appreciation of the importance and benefits of European integration, as reflected in recent Eurobarometer reports. Europe is simply part of who we are.
Noel Treacy is Minister for European Affairs