EUCIS-LLL INFORMATION NOTE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2014 While European elections are approaching, EUCIS-LLL provides you here with a detailed information note on how will it work, how the system may be reformed in the future, what the timeline is and what will be at stake for European democracy but also for European integration in general and for education and training in particular. See also EUCIS-LLL Manifesto and our Lifelong Learning Week 2013 which theme is “The future of learning – preparing for the 2014 elections”. How do elections work at EU level? What treaties say The European Parliament (EP) is the only directly elected institution of the EU and represents EU citizens. Every EU citizen has the right to vote and stand as a candidate for European elections, even if she/her resides in a different EU country than her/his own. EU political parties are meant to contribute to expressing the political will of citizens. Legal framework for 2014 European elections Treaty on European Union, article 10 and 17 Treaty on the functioning of the European Union, article 22 Charter of Fundamental Rights, article 11, 12 and 39 2012 Consolidated version of the 1976 Act concerning MEPs election 2012 European Parliament resolution on the elections to the European Parliament in 2014 2013 Commission Communication on preparing for the 2014 European elections: further enhancing their democratic and efficient conduct 2013 Commission Recommendation on enhancing the democratic and efficient conduct of the elections to the European Parliament 2013 European Parliament resolution on improving the practical arrangements for the holding of the European elections in 2014 1 Date The next European elections will take place from 22 to 25 May 2014 (proposed by the Parliament and approved by the Council; Member States are free to choose on which day they organise the vote), so that MEPs have sufficient time to prepare for the election of the European Commission President in July. In Member States Within Member States, each government has its national electoral provisions for European elections and therefore there is no uniform procedure but some elements of electoral systems have progressively been harmonised (proportional representation, creation of EU political parties, abolition of the dual mandate). This great diversity can sometimes entail ethical problems, such as different rules for private donations to national parties that will of course be highly influent in the EU campaign. Elections in each Member State are therefore made on the basis of proportional representation using the list system or the single transferable vote (ranked voting: if the candidate for which the elector votes is eliminated, the vote is transferred to other candidates according to the voter’s stated preferences). The ballot is free and secret and MEPs are elected by direct universal suffrage. Each country is free to establish constituencies for European elections as long as it does not affect the proportional vote principle, as well as a threshold for the allocation of seats that should not exceed 5% of votes at national level and a ceiling for candidates’ campaign budget. Number of seats MEPs are now sitting in groups formed on the basis of political affiliation rather than nationality. Currently, there are seven political groups: Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left European Conservatives and Reformists Group Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group 2 The first elections were held in 1979 and, since then, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected once every five years by voters across all the European Union Member States. Over decades the Parliament had to adapt seats distribution according to demographic and membership changes within the EU. There are currently 766 seats in the Parliament from all 28 countries, the last 12 lawmakers having been elected after Croatia’s accession to the EU in July 2013. This number should go down to 751 after the 2014 elections according to the rules of the Lisbon Treaty, meaning 15 seats have to be given up (Germany will lose 3, while Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania will lose 1 and the rest will remain the same). The maximum number of seats per Member State is 96 and the minimum is 6. Reforming the system by 2019 The allocation of seats should be revised before the 2019 European elections, to ensure that seats are distributed in an "objective, fair, durable and transparent way" and that the principle of “degressive proportionality” is respected (MEPs from larger Member States representing more citizens than smaller ones). Indeed, the Parliament's electoral system is a compromise between the democratic principle of equality (‘one person one vote’) and the international law principle of equality among states. A more radical application of the degressive proportionality principle would actually mean making some countries gain seats and some other lose more than one, but this would be hardly acceptable for Member States. Formalising a more realistic application of demographic trends and increased EU membership will be part of the proposal MEPs plan to table before the end of 2015 to reform the electoral process, along with the voting system. This proposal should be followed up by a serious dialogue engaging the Council, in the framework of an overall reform of EU treaties drawn up in a European Convention (see also the future Civil Society Alliance for a European Convention). The Commission had also insisted on the need to move this discussion forward as EU integration and legitimacy should go hand in hand. A new system of seats allocation would even be envisaged, with MEPs elected on pan-European lists with at least one third of Member States (electors would be allowed to vote for the pan-European list in addition to their vote for the national and regional lists and a EU regulating electoral authority would be set up) to reinforce European parties, for which the Parliament has also called the Commission to reflect on a common EU status (supposedly voted before the elections – see Commission proposal and procedure). MEP Andrew Duff (ALDE, UK) has tabled two reports to reform seats allocation in this direction heading towards those transnational lists, notably with the election of 25 MEPs by a single constituency formed of the whole EU territory. The Parliament has endorsed this idea but the Duff report unfortunately remains non-binding, depending on the willingness of Member States. Another significant change that could occur by 2019 is the questioning of the Strasbourg location for the plenary sitting of the Parliament one week a month. The Constitutional Affairs Committee has just adopted a report saying the Parliament could decide where to sit, but France will certainly never give up on having a European institution on its territory. Timeline Nov. 2013 - Jan. 2014: Greens primary election (two top candidates selected) 29-30 November: ALDE Congress (adoption of a Manifesto and opening for EC candidates) 19-20 Dec: ALDE special meeting (selection EC candidates) Feb 2014: PSE congress (selection of a candidate and adoption of a Manifesto) 6-7 March 2014: EPP congress (launch of European campaign) 22-25 May 2014: European elections July 2014: first new Parliament plenary sitting (election of EC President) 3 What is at stake for European democracy in 2014?1 Fostering ownership among EU citizens While it is unsure that a transnational list will really be set up for the upcoming elections, the Commission and the Parliament have called at least for political parties and Member States to take the polling seriously and give a genuine European dimension to the campaigns. Indeed, while the EU agenda is influencing more and more national strategies and citizens’ daily lives, elections turnout trends are deplorable (62% in 1979 against 43% in 2009). Often, European elections in Member States suffer from limited media coverage whereas opinion polls show that most citizens would vote if they were better informed about the European Parliament, the political parties, their programmes and candidates2. The Parliament called Member States to organise public campaigns to increase turnout, including by permitting political broadcasts by EU parties, and national parties to inform citizens about their European affiliation and programme. The Parliament itself has launched a campaign to raise awareness of its new powers after the Lisbon Treaty adoption, of its role in key EU stakes and the importance of voting. Besides, European elections campaigns within Member States that are more geared to support national programmes rather than genuinely promote a European democratic scene, and MEPs are more often elected on the basis of internal party trade-offs rather than of real expertise and interest in EU issues; this has contributed to impede participation to European elections over the years. The Parliament has asked European parties to orchestrate lively political campaigns addressing EU-level challenges and politics, from the elaboration of really alternative programmes to a multinational composition of the lists and even through the inclusion of the names and emblems of EU parties on ballot papers. The Parliament also called political parties to make the candidate names public at least six weeks before the vote. Democratic and transparent principles as well as high standards of integrity and openness within the parties shall apply for the selection of candidates but also all over the campaign. The Commission, along with similar recommendations on all those issues, has also called Member States to better collaborate on voters’ data transmission for an efficient conduct of the elections. At last, the Parliament also called on Member States to remedy the gender imbalance with the House with only 35% of female MEPs for the current term.