A view from inside the EU

There is less than one week to go before the 2009 European elections yet you could be forgiven for not even being aware one was taking place. Instead the press is full of calls for a UK General election to be held in the aftermath of the Westminster expenses scandal and few mention a different election already scheduled for Thursday 4th June. This is a shame, as voters only get one opportunity every 5 years to express their views on the EU and who they want to represent them. This election campaign has been all but obliterated by national issues. Once again the elections to the European Parliament will be determined by views about the behaviour of national politicians and their pecadillos or Gordon Brown's performance as PM.
But what of the 5 years of work by 785 MEPs (of whom 78 are British) ? Who will judge whether the EU's climate change commitments of reducing COs gases by 20% by 2020 is sufficiently ambitious or whether liberalising the energy markets really does bring down utility bills ? Who will take issue with the rules banning liquids onboard aircraft (introduced on the insistence of UK Government) or on whether Britain has suffered or benefitted from migrant workers like Polish decorators coming to Britain ? Has our life become better by the EU requiring local authorities to measure air quality and recycle old batteries, should farmers be encouraged to diversify and use more eco-friendly techniques to benefit from EU subsidies ? Should we be investing more in train infrastructure, rather than airports, and encouraging more local authorities to charge for road use at busy times of the day to reduce congestion ? Should the EU be setting minimum terms for maternity leave or leave it to national governments ?
There's so much to debate and so little time left. The expenses scandal in Westminster is justifiably gripping the nation but it should not be the exclusive story. It is understandable that people are angry at their trust being abused but we must not lose sight of the bigger picture beyond the Westminster village. The world's problems will not wait for the Houses of Parliament to be reformed.