European Parliament President: Too much secrecy in EU

After months of tense negotiations Greece has again been brought back from the brink of default after a last minute bailout was agreed by EU leaders on Monday, but nagging doubts remain about Athens ability to repay its debts and even remain in the Euro Zone.

Meanwhile, the newly-elected President of the European Parliament says the debate over Europe needs to be more democratic.

“Europe needs a place where the controversial debate between different opinions about the future of our continent should happen, and this place is the European Parliament,” said Martin Schulz, who took over the presidency on January 16th.

He told Vatican Radio there is too much secrecy surrounding decision making in the European Union.

“We have a lot of closed doors in Brussels and Strasbourg,” he said. “The [European] Council is dealing behind closed doors. The [European] Commission is discussing and deciding behind closed doors. We have too much closed doors, with the fact that behind these closed doors decisions are taken that affect the daily life of our citizens. Therefore, the European Parliament must be the institution with the widest open doors – so that visible and audible is what is discussed and decided for the future of the European countries.”

Listen to full interview by Fausta Speranza with Martin Schulz: