A fair democracy is built on trust between citizens and those who hold power. But what happens to that trust if we don’t really know what it is placed in? If you were asked where the balance of power between the EU and national parliaments is decided, or what decisions affecting your everyday life the EU made last week, would you know how to answer?
In Finnish political debate, the EU is mostly mentioned in connection with crises, and even then the parties are not necessarily able to form a clear position. This creates a climate in which confusing others and throwing out half-truths pays off, where people who disagree don’t get to make their case calmly, and where political trust in the EU suffers.
At its core, trust means that someone believes another party will do the right thing. What this means in practice depends on the situation, on who is granting the trust, and on who is receiving it. In politics, this means that citizens believe politicians will make decisions that are desirable and considered correct. Political trust is an essential part of a functioning democratic system. Earning this trust requires an awareness of what kind of institution is involved, how it works, and how it can be influenced. Without that understanding, trust ultimately has no real foundation.
For the principles of democracy to be realised as fully as possible at every level of politics, people need a solid base of knowledge about what different actors stand for, what they consider right, and what is happening at each political level. This is not possible without reliable channels of communication. Finnish media’s interest in the EU has been too low for far too long, leaving EU awareness to be handled by other actors in society. For the nation to be able to trust the EU, or to critically assess its actions, the media must report more actively on what the Union is doing. Informing citizens and producing trustworthy content are duties of Yle, and it is high time Yle started using its own resources to fill the gap in EU coverage. As the national broadcaster, Yle has a responsibility to provide unfiltered coverage of the parties’ EU positions and of the different facets of EU politics – not only during crises and election fever. This is how a lasting, accessible channel of information about EU affairs can be built in our country.
It would be of primary importance for Yle to organise regular discussion events where Finnish parties could present and justify their EU positions. Such party panels, alongside more thorough news coverage, would bring the EU closer to the public. For the EU to have strong national legitimacy and a chance to reform democratically, Yle must strengthen the role of EU debate in national politics. Normalising the EU through weekly coverage and regular party panels would break down preconceptions of Brussels as a distant bureaucratic machine. Yle has a duty to communicate how the EU touches the everyday life of every Finn.
JEF Helsinki