Eurobarometer surveys reveal that most European citizens (more than 50%) do not think that their vote is going to change anything; they think that the EP does not deal with problems that really concern them, they lack information about the elections and the EP and are not interested in EU affairs. For most potential voters, the EP elections lack the clear purpose of national elections. These elections do not constitute an instrument to sanction the incumbent government (largely the Commission and the Council).

While companies in the European Union increasingly recognize the importance of public policy advocacy at the European and national level only a few have their own representation office in Brussels. Yet companies need to be compliant in many sectors e.g. consumer protection and producer liability, work safety, product certification, technical regulations, standards, food quality and safety, environmental protection, rules of competition, labels, trademarks, patents without talking about what’s in the pipeline in terms of new legislation that is bound to affect their business.

In its State of the Union Address 2013, the President of the European Commission Mr. José Manuel Durão Barroso makes a reference to what he said last year  i.e. to present before the European elections, further ideas on the future of the Union and how to best consolidate and deepen the community method and community approach in the longer term. That way, he says  they can be subject to a real European debate. And Mr. Barroso to add ‘they will set out the principles and orientations that are necessary for a true political union.

France has 34  sectoral plans for its industrial recovery. The objective is to build a new and competitive industrial offering that is capable to regain lost market shares and to win new ones. It should be pointed that industry represented in 2011 but only 19% of the total French GDP behind Czech Republic (36%), Poland (32%), Bulgaria (31%), Hungary (31%), Austria (29%), Finland (29%), Estonia (29%), Croatia (26%) Germany (28%), Lithuania (28%), Spain (26%), Sweden (26%), Italy (25%), Netherlands (24%), Denmark (22%),UK (22%), Belgium (22%), Latvia (22%).