Few would deny that the European Parliament elections are, essentially, a set of 27 national elections. After more than forty years of direct Parliament elections, much as EU federalists might like the reality to be otherwise, there is no European political space.
Breaking this pattern has preoccupied the minds of several generations of EU integrationists. Yet this system is by design: Back in 1979, many national parties were far from convinced that direct elections were a good idea.
Forty-three years later, national parties still jealously guard their status and are often suspicious of what they perceive as encroachment by the Brussels-based European political parties. As we have seen from decades of EU summits, leaders often like to play up the adversarial side of EU politics for national gain.
The result is a deeply imperfect hybrid system.
We have pan-European political parties but their mandates are so tightly constrained when it comes to campaigning, particularly in national campaigns, that they are almost invisible outside Brussels.
The European parties are not allowed to have their logos displayed next to the logos of the national parties on the ballot paper. It is no surprise that few Europeans are aware that they even exist.
This week, the European Parliament, in its legislative initiative on the EU electoral law, backed a plan to introduce a transnational list to elect 28 of the Parliament’s MEPs. ‘Historic’ and ‘revolutionary’ were a couple of the phrases used by MEPs to describe the vote.
Supporters of transnational lists say that this is part of making the parliament elections genuinely ‘European’. Having candidates running on the ticket of the pan-European parties would necessitate a ‘European’ campaign.
But as revolutions go, it is distinctly modest.
The parliament’s proposed ‘pan-European constituency’ would only elect 28 MEPs out of 734 deputies, or around 4% of the total. At that rate, we might be looking at a pan-European constituency for the whole Parliament by around 2120.
Likewise, it is not correct to suggest that transnational lists are a new idea. Federalists have been putting this issue on the table for several decades.
What is new is that fifteen years ago, the proposal did not get out of the Constitutional Affairs committee. This time, with the backing of most MEPs, it is harder for governments to defy the will of Parliament.
This does not mean that they will indeed happen in 2024: There is a good chance that national ministers will quietly strangle the plan, as they did with the Spitzenkandidat system three years ago, before handing back the file to MEPs for a final ‘take it or leave it’ vote.
In truth, Parliament has little influence over the rules that govern how its members are elected, another paradox that explains why the struggle for ‘European’ elections has been so long and so slow.
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The Roundup
Former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s opposition to the proposed EU embargo of oil and sanctions targeting the leader of the Russian church.
Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukraine and unable to leave the country due to infrastructure challenges and blocked Black Sea ports including Mariupol, a UN food agency official said on Friday.
Meanwhile, French politicians are keeping quiet about the EU’s proposed embargo on Russian oil, most likely to avoid new tensions with the Yellow Vests movement, whose protests shook the country in 2018-2019.
In other news, Europe is increasingly becoming a hub for production and trans-shipment of cocaine to other regions of the world, in addition to being a major consumption market, EU agencies said on Friday, warning also about the expanding methamphetamine industry.
Fifteen EU countries have reported cases of acute hepatitis of unknown origin in children, while health authorities continue trying to figure out the cause.
Electrolyser manufacturers in Europe committed on Thursday (5 May) to increase their manufacturing capacity tenfold – to 17.5 GW per year by 2025 – as part of a joint declaration with the European Commission in Brussels.
In April, Bulgaria became home to INSAIT, a new Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology that aims to develop a world-class research centre, keep talent in Bulgaria, and attract outstanding international scientists by offering globally competitive research facilities and compensation.
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Look out for…
- Europe Day celebration on Monday (9 May).
- Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders participates in roundtable on future of European democracy in Paris on Monday.
- Closing event of Conference on the Future of Europe at European Parliament in Strasbourg on Monday.
Views are the author’s.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
