European Commission President Mr Romano Prodi will today launch a new drive to win back public support for the EU.
After a series of surveys showing ordinary people know and care little about the EU, he has admitted that Brussels was now so far out of touch with its citizens that a major shake-up in the running of the EU is vital.
Mr Prodi wants to "reconnect" with the public by cutting red tape, speeding up EU legislation and demonstrating that the Commission - and the European Parliament - do a valuable job'.
A document being approved at a meeting of the 20 Commissioners in Brussels reflects many months of mounting concern about public perceptions of the EU. The unexpected failure of the Irish electorate to endorse the Nice Treaty is regarded as a symptom of voters not understanding what the EU is doing.
But Mr Prodi's plans also involve giving the Commission more direct powers for implementing laws in a bid to speed up current lumbering procedures which can add years to the delay between proposals and legislation.
There will be more emphasis on issues of concern to the public - food safety, consumer health and welfare, transport - and less on the "inter-institutional architecture'' and the next "intergovernmental conference'' on the EU's future.
Efforts will be stepped up to eradicate euro-babble, which is particularly appropriate, as Eurocrats preparing the new White Paper had to hold their own debate on what its subject matter - ``European governance'' - really means.
The document said that good "governance'' was founded on five principles - openness, effectiveness, participation, coherence and accountability.
PA