A toothless watchdog, by design

Elections for the European Parliament are around the corner and all Greek political parties have published their lists of candidates. As many others already noted, the lists are dominated by TV personalities, actors, athletes and journalists. Clearly the parties are not looking for individuals with some kind of expertise or European vision; rather they are looking for well-known names to attract votes. This is, of course, nothing new as it has been going on for years but is Greece an outlier? Do other EU countries act in a similar way? Is the ticket of the French Socialists or German Christian Democrats dominated by personalities rather than seasoned politicians or experts?

The real question, I think, is: Do EU countries consider the EU Parliament to be a serious institution worthy of their best and brightest? My view is that they do not. Besides Greece, how many other...