A majority of European citizens would like the EU to play a more substantial role in a wider range of social policy issues but most believe that national governments should remain the key decision-makers, the first ever pan-European consultation of citizens has found.
Reports from the consultation sessions, held across Europe last year and involving a randomly selected group of participants in all 27 member states, found that those taking part were unanimous in wanting the EU to "actively create a 'social Europe' beyond the 'economic Europe' ".
The findings were the subject of a National Forum on Europe plenary session held at Dublin Castle yesterday.
Gerrit Rauws, director of the King Baudouin Foundation, one of the organisations that oversaw the consultations, told the forum it was striking that the topics selected by citizens as key to the future of Europe were not main talking points in the EU itself.
Ignoring institutional and economic issues, those involved in the consultation sessions chose instead to debate environmental issues, social conditions, family policy, immigration and the EU's role internationally.
Many envisaged a social agenda that would lead to a gradual harmonisation of social and economic policies among EU countries, the consultation found.
"The results show that European citizens are aware the EU is a social reality and that what happens in the Baltic States or Portugal concerns them," Mr Rauws said. "Citizens understand well what the challenges are."
Roger Liddle, principal adviser at the European Commission's Bureau of European Policy Affairs, said that while the EU was strong on markets and the economy, it was less so on social policy. The social consequences of Europe's economic dynamic should be examined more, he said. "Of course no one is saying social policies should be run from Brussels," Mr Liddle said. "But there is a role for the EU in the social field, setting minimum standards and targets that we may each aim for."
Alan Dukes, director of the Dublin-based Institute of European Affairs, said the consultation's findings demonstrated the gap between citizens and government in member states. "People are less ambiguous about a social Europe than member states are," he said. "It shows member states are out of tune with what people really want. The question is how the EU can be empowered to do the things people want it to do."