Parliament has started the reform of the EU’s Electoral Act, seeking to turn the 27 separate elections and their diverging rules into a single European election.
28 additional MEPs to be elected on EU-wide lists that must ensure balanced geographical representation
Allow postal voting in all member states, set a common minimum electoral threshold and let 18-year-olds stand for election
“Zipped lists” or quotas to ensure gender equality
Elections on 9 May in all EU countries
On Tuesday, Parliament adopted a
legislative initiative report that seeks to overhaul the rules for
European elections. The draft legislative act was approved by 323 votes
for, 262 against, and 48 abstentions, and the accompanying resolution
with 331 votes for, 257 against, and 52 abstentions.
Under the system devised by MEPs, each
voter would have two votes: one to elect MEPs in national
constituencies, and one in an EU-wide constituency, composed by 28
additional seats. To ensure balanced geographical representation within
these lists, member states would be divided into three groups depending
on the size of their population. The lists would be filled with
candidates coming from these groups in a proportional way. EU-wide lists
of candidates should be submitted by European electoral entities, such
as coalitions of national political parties and/or national associations
of voters or European political parties.
Parliament also wants to tackle gender
inequality, highlighting that despite an overall improvement in the last
elections, some countries did not elect a single woman MEP. The text
proposes compulsory “zipped lists” (i.e. alternating between female and
male candidates) or quotas, without infringing on the rights of
non-binary people.
Other proposals to “Europeanise” the elections include:
- 9 May as the common European voting day;
- the right to stand for election for all Europeans of 18 years or older;
- a minimum electoral threshold of 3.5% to be compulsory for constituencies of 60 seats or more;
- equal access to the elections for all citizens, including those with disabilities, and the option of postal voting, and
- the right for citizens to vote for the President of the Commission in a “lead candidate” (Spitzenkandidaten) system through the EU-wide lists.
A new European Electoral Authority would be set up to oversee the process and ensure compliance with the new rules.
Next steps
As established in Article 223 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Parliament’s legislative initiative would need to be approved
unanimously by the Council. It would then come back to the Parliament so
that MEPs can give their consent, before being approved by all member
states in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
Negotiations with the Council will commence when the member states adopt
their position.
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