European Parliament

Executive Summary The European Parliament elections on 22 May 2014 come at a time when voter disenchantment with mainstream political parties is high; Euroscepticism fed by anti-EU parties is growing; and the electoral threat posed by the UK Independence Party threatens to infuse the political debate with anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and xenophobic sentiments. The European Parliament is the only elected body in the EU machinery making an important avenue for the articulation of citizen interests and concerns over the direction of EU policymaking. With the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament elections in 2014 will, for the first time, give EU citizens a say in the election of the European Commission President through the indirect election of the office by MEPs in the 2014-2019 Assembly. Beyond the wider implications of the election for the governance of the Eurozone economies; recession and bailouts, the 2014 election will have a considerable impact on the discourse on minorities in the EU, particularly Muslims, as far right parties across the continent mobilise to exploit anti-EU sentiment to further advance their anti-Muslim attitudes and policies. The threat of sufficient numbers of MEPs representing far right parties being elected and establishing a political grouping in the European Parliament is credible in the current climate. Moreover, as mainstream parties grapple with the electoral challenge posed by far right parties, like UKIP, on issues such immigration, the balance of power between Member States and Brussels, and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights over UK courts, the likelihood of far right ideas influencing the direction of mainstream discourse is a very real possibility. This manifesto presents information on the role of the EP in the EU’s decision making process, the threat of the far right, and policy areas where the EP has played a role in defending the Union’s fundamental rights on challenging racism, discrimination, and other forms of intolerance; as well as its contribution to foreign and security policy and the role of the EU as an actor in global affairs. A set of key pledges we are seeking from incumbent and prospective MEPs in the 2014 election are presented below: Islamophobia and Freedom of Religion 1. To resist the xenophobic, anti-minority sentiments espoused by far right parties and to uphold the EU’s fundamental values on respect for minorities, freedom of religion and protection against discrimination on grounds of race and religion, and other forms of intolerance. 2. To maintain the UK’s commitment to the Human Rights Act and the European Court of Human Rights as an essential defence against violations of the civil and political rights of citizens of Member States. 3. To assert support for the work of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency in documenting racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance in the EU, including Islamophobia and honouring commitments to implement recommendations by the FRA on the protection of citizens from discrimination on grounds of race or religion; public incitement of violence or hatred to groups defined by race or religion; preventing and combatting all forms of violence perpetrated on grounds of race, religion and other bias motivations in employment, education, housing and service provision. 4. To implement the recommendations of the FRA’s campaign on Victims’ rights as part of its strand of work on ‘Making Hate Crime Visible in the European Union’, including better recording of hate crime. 5. Uphold the right of citizens to freedom of religion, as protected under Article 9 of the European Con- vention on Human Rights, including in the provision of food (halal slaughter); in dress (hijab and niqab); and in religious observance (places of worship and circumcision). 6. To promote the ‘reasonable accommodation’ of religion in public life, including employment, and to tackle direct and indirect discrimination of individuals on grounds of religion. 7. To support the work of the FRA in compiling reports on the situation of Muslim minorities in the EU and to fulfil recommendations that promote equality and integration of European Muslim communities. Copyright © iENGAGE - St Brides Chambers, 8 Salisbury Court, London EC4Y 8AA | Tel: 020 7871 8430 | www.iengage.uk.net 1 8. To support the work of the FRA in tackling new frontiers in anti-Muslim hate speech and hate crime, especially on social media platforms; working with Internet Service Providers and social media companies to develop a no-platform policy on anti-Muslim hate speech and to identify users who violate codes of conduct on incitement to hatred and hate crime. Counter-terrorism, de-radicalisation and Muslims’ Civil and Political Rights 9. To promote inter-agency and transnational co-operation in challenging far right ideological movements and their targeting of Muslim communities across the EU. 10. To support the work of the Radicalisation Awareness Network and commit resources to tackling threats to security emanating from al-Qaida inspired groups, far right ideological movements, sectarian, ethno-national and other political-ideological movements with due regard for proportionality and threat level; and to avoid the stigmatisation and demonisation of Muslim communities when addressing al-Qaida inspired political violence and terrorism. 11. To ensure that necessary work in the area of security and counter-terrorism does not violate the civil and political rights of Muslim communities in Member States and that all necessary legal instruments comply with requirements of non-discrimination and proportionality (eg stop and search policies across the EU). Global Human Rights promotion 12. Uphold legislation on the labelling of produce from the Occupied Palestinian Territories to enable consumers to make informed decisions in their purchase of food exported to the EU from territories under Israeli occupation. 13. Fulfil the EU’s commitment, through its role in the Quartet and the office of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to establish a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian territories based on the 1967 borders and Jerusalem as a shared capital. 14. To encourage, through the office of the EU’s High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the participation of Hamas in any peace negotiations on Final Status issues to ensure a durable and sustainable peace. 15. To maintain diplomatic and economic pressure on Israel, through the bilateral instrument, EU-Israel Association Agreement, to comply with international law regarding the illegal settlements in the West Bank, house demolitions in East Jerusalem and lifting the blockade on Gaza. 16. To promote the EU’s values on human rights, the rule of law, respect for minorities and the protection of civil and political rights in its foreign and security policy through the office of the High Represen- tative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European External Action Service. Copyright © iENGAGE - St Brides Chambers, 8 Salisbury Court, London EC4Y 8AA | Tel: 020 7871 8430 | www.iengage.uk.net 2 The European Parliament (EP) elections will take place in the UK on Thursday 22 May 2014. The EP is a directly elected chamber comprising of MEPs elected from all European Union Members States. There are currently 766 MEPs in the chamber. The elections in May 2014 will elect 751 MEPs to the new assembly. The newly elected MEPs will in turn elect the new President of the EU Commission, the person in charge of the EU’s executive body. By electing MEPs, EU citizens will not only be electing their representatives in the European Parliament, they will be casting a vote exercising their choice over the direction of the EU for the next term 2014-2019. The 2014 EP elections come at a time when far right groups across the EU have been successfully appealing to voters. Austerity measures and the economic downturn has led to a fall in living standards and a rise in unemployment across some EU members states. In the climate of economic recession, anti-immigrant and exclusionary rhetoric has been advancing. The elections also come at a time when confidence and trust in the EU system is declining across Member States. Parties actively promoting anti-EU platforms are increasing their appeal. Far right parties across the EU have seen an increase in their popularity with poll predictions showing that parties like the French National Front, Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) Austrian Freedom Party (FOP), to name a few, could make strong gains at the ballot box.1 The EP has tended to experience a democratic deficit with voter turnout characteristically low in some countries, including the UK. Voter turnout rates in 1999; 2004 and 2009 for the UK was 24%, 38.52% and 34.7% respectively. Low voter turnout undermines the legitimacy of the elected chamber and affects the connection voters feel towards European institutions, particularly one reliant on a mandate from the citizens of the EU’s Member States. The system of proportional representation used to elect MEPs offers far right and other marginal groups an opportunity to capitalise on low turnout and win seats. In 2009, two members of the British National Party were elected, leader Nick Griffin and Andrew Brons. MEPs are elected on a party list system with political parties ranking their candidates for each of the 12 regional constituencies. Voters cast one vote marking an ‘X’ against the party of their choice, or by the name of an individual candidate, if voting for an independent. The number of candidates that are elected from each party to represent the region in the European Parliament will depend upon the party’s share of the vote in that region. Table 1 shows the number of EP seats contested in each of the 12 regions and the number of seats won by each party.

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