EU Has Interfered Too Much In People's Lives, Juncker Says Ahead Of Brexit Vote

Growing euroscepticism in the EU is partly due to too much interference from Brussels in ordinary people's lives, which needs to be toned down, the head of the European Commission said on Tuesday.

In comments likely to resonate in Britain as it gears up for a June referendum on whether to stay in the bloc, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said more powers should rest with the capitals rather than central EU institutions.

Asked by British conservative lawmaker Nigel Evans what he planned to do about growing euroscepticism, Juncker said: "I think that one of the reasons why European citizens are stepping away from the European project is due to the fact that we are interfering in too many domains of their private lives.

In many of those areas, individual states were "better placed to take action and to pass through legislation."

For that reason, Brussels was passing far fewer new pieces of legislation than under previous presidents, Juncker said.

He was speaking after Dutch voters, in a swipe at their government as well as the EU, rejected closer ties with Ukraine earlier this month, having also voted against a proposed EU constitution in 2005.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-juncker-idUSKCN0XG2MU