Reform of the European Electoral Law: transnational lists for 2024?
Is a reform of the EU Electoral Law possible in time for the adoption of the transnational lists for the 2024 European elections?
This is what the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee wants. In February 2022, the Committee backed an initiative to update the European Electoral Law, which dates from 1976. In May, the European Parliament agreed to go ahead with the proposal.
The main points of the reform
The first major change to the electoral law is the creation of a European-wide constituency. In addition to the traditional national ballot, each European citizen would be able to vote for a list of 28 names from a European constituency.
Competing lists will be formed by coalitions of national parties and/or associations. The European political groups will each propose a list composed of representatives from their national divisions.
The lists will have to ensure a geographical balance so that smaller states are represented, and a gender balance (through alternating lists).
Other elements of the report include a minimum age of 18 to stand as a candidate, the organisation of voting in all member states on 9 May (Europe Day), and equal treatment and opportunities with national political parties when it comes to identifying European coalitions.
Where do we stand?
Now that the bill has been passed by the European Parliament, the Council must examine and ratify the initiative.
The Czech Presidency of the European Union, which ended in December 2022, was not very keen to put the issue to national representatives. The ongoing Swedish presidency, in January 2023, will not do so either, as the ruling coalition is supported by the Eurosceptical party Sweden Democrats.
This leaves only the Spanish presidency to bring forward a discussion on the text, with less than a year to debate it before the European elections in 2024.
Even among supporters of the dossier, there are serious doubts about its adoption before the elections, and it is likely that European voters will have to wait another five years before seeing this important demand from the Conference on the Future of Europe adopted.
This article is an extract from the white paper “Repenser l’Europe — 2022, année Européenne”, written in collaboration with Julien Hoez and Philipp Saueracker.
You can find the white paper here (in french).