DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS The Selection of Candidates for the European Parliament by National Parties and the Impact of European Political Parties STUDY Abstract This study compares the procedures applied by national political parties when they select their candidates for the European elections. It analyses the background in national law, the formal party statutes and the informal processes preparing the final selection. The report covers the calendar, selection criteria and structural characte- ristics of candidate nomination in the major political parties of the Member States, including the impact of European political parties. October 2009 PE 410.683 EN This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs. The paper is published in English. AUTHORS Jean-Benoît Pilet, Cevipol, Université Libre de Bruxelles Rumyana Kolarova, Vladimir Shopov, Bulgarian EC Studies Association (BECSA) Mats Braun, Vít Beneš, Jan Karlas , Institute of International Relations, Prague Mette Buskjær Christensen, Ian Manners, Danish Inst. for International Studies Mathias Jopp, Tobias Heller, Jeannette Pabst, IEP, Berlin Piret Ehin, Institute of Government and Politics, University of Tartu. Antonis Papayannidis, Nikos Frangakis, Anna Vallianatou, Greek Centre of European Studies and Research Ignacio Molina, Elcano Royal Institute of International Studies, Madrid Olivier Rozenberg, Centre de recherches politiques, Sciences Po, Paris Joseph Curtin, IIEA, Dublin Giulia Sandri, Cevipol, Université Libre de Bruxelles Achilles C. Emilianides, Christina Ioannou, Giorgos Kentas, Centre for Scientific Dialogue and Research, Cyprus Toms Rostoks, Veiko Spolītis, Latvian Institute of International Affairs Gabriella Ilonszki, Réka Várnagy, Corvinus University, Budapest Eva Huijbregts, Nel van Dijk, Institute for Political Participation, Amsterdam Nieves E. Kautny, Österreichisches Institut für Internationale Politik (oiip), Vienna Maria Karasinska-Fendler, European Institute, Łódź Marina Costa Lobo, José Reis Santos, University of Lisbon Elena Iorga, Institute for Public Policy, Bucarest Sabina Kajnč, Centre of International Relations, Lublijana Vladimír Bilčík, Zuzan Lisoňová , Slovak Foreign Policy Association Rauli Mickelsson, Hannu Nurmi, University of Turku Magnus Blomgren, Umeå University Brendan Donnelly, Federal Trust for Education and Research, London Ana-Maria Boromisa, Institute for International Relations, Zagreb RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Wilhelm Lehmann Policy Department C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS: EN ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in March 2009. Brussels, © European Parliament October 2009. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non- commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. Contents Preface.......................................................................................................................................................................1 Belgium .....................................................................................................................................................................2 Legal rules................................................................................................................................................................................................2 The parties’ candidate selection rules.........................................................................................................................................5 Who are the Belgian candidates and MEPs?.............................................................................................................................9 Bulgaria ................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................................15 Nomination and selection processes by party......................................................................................................................16 Conclusions and recommendations ..........................................................................................................................................22 Czech Republic ..................................................................................................................................................... 27 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................................27 Studying the parties’ selection of candidates for the European Parliament ...........................................................27 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................................39 Denmark ................................................................................................................................................................ 40 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................................40 The Danish party and electoral system ...................................................................................................................................40 Procedures of candidate selection .............................................................................................................................................45 Cooperation at the European level ............................................................................................................................................51 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................................52 Germany................................................................................................................................................................. 58 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................................58 Parties in Germany and the selecting of candidates ..........................................................................................................58 Influence from the European level ............................................................................................................................................65 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................................71 Estonia.................................................................................................................................................................... 75 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................75 Legal, institutional and political context .................................................................................................................................76 Candidate selection process in political parties...................................................................................................................79 Conclusions and recommendations ..........................................................................................................................................88 Ireland .................................................................................................................................................................... 91 Background..........................................................................................................................................................................................91 Fianna Fáil ............................................................................................................................................................................................94 Fine Gael ................................................................................................................................................................................................95 Labour Party........................................................................................................................................................................................97