Securing Europe's Fate: A Task for Citizens and for Politicians

An obvious question arises as to how that gulf may be bridged. [...]politicians need to find more effective ways of reaching out to and connecting with voters. [...]getting a firm grasp on some of these bread-and-butter issues, and demonstrating that the European Parliament not only cares about them but can influence the conditions for families' lives in Europe, could provide a firm base for a new type of relationship. In some recent health-related areas, the performance of the institutions has been suboptimal: the data protection regulation might have taken more account of the specific nature of health research; the clinical trials regulation might have better understood the needs of citizens, and their readiness to participate in clinical trials; and cross-border care could be implemented more energetically if there were greater alignment across institutions and member states.