Re:EU rules allowing “exceptional” use of spyware against jo...
by jruohonen on Tuesday May 23, 2023 @01:53PM
(#36048141)
Good that you brought this argument. It is a very thorny issue; we are talking about the equality of states versus the equality of citizens.
I for one support the supranational democracy element and not the intergovernmental one. For all things related to civil rights, including privacy and other things, the good things have always come from the supranational level, whereas the intergovernmental arrangement has always watered things down (or worse). The rot traces to the Lisbon Treaty.
It is a schizophrenic system: high-level politicians (ministers) are deciding things at the EU-level (such as building an "ECHOLON" like someone noted below) and then coming back to their national constituencies saying that "Brussels did it".
The issue is mostly one of awareness, if people cared about the Council there'd be political interest for other politicians to keep ministers more accountable. As is no one even knows what the Council is and who is on it. No national politician is going to waste political capital on council oversight
The main issue with the Council of ministers is that it's a legislative body made up of executive branch actors, I don't like that on a philosophical level. Would be much better if they were replaced by national legislature delegates. Same voting system, same competencies and powers, just 1-2 hundred members instead of 27+1