EU European affairs ministers will be asked when they meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday 17 April to come to unanimous agreement on reform of European Union electoral law.
Time is short: the proposal needs to be adopted definitively almost a year before the European elections so that the provisions it contains can be transposed into national electoral law in time for the end of May 2019.
The Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU is hopeful that political agreement can be reached on Tuesday. “This is the first time we have been close to an agreement”, a European source said on Friday 13 April.
One single provision remains to be approved, at the insistence of Germany. In 2014, the Karlsruhe constitutional court ruled that the inclusion in German law of a minimum threshold percentage of votes for election as an MEP could only be possible if EU electoral law also made this stipulation.
In its legislative proposal presented on its own initiative in November 2015 (see EUROPE 11429), the European Parliament suggests the minimum threshold be set at between 3% and 5% of votes cast in single constituency countries and in countries which have constituencies of at least 26 seats.
While a previous compromise spoke a minimum number of 32 seats, the Bulgarian Presidency is now suggesting increasing the size of constituencies to 35 seats and lowering the threshold percentage of votes needed to be elected as an MEP to 2%.
This 2% threshold is close to the natural threshold – calculated to be 2.08% for a 35-seat constituency – which corresponds to the proportion of votes required to have a candidate elected in a given constituency, the Bulgarian document, a copy of which has been obtained by EUROPE, states.
This amendment persuaded the Netherlands, which opposes thresholds as a matter of principle, that it will never be affected by the reform. With a constituency of 32 seats, Romania, too, would have been affected.
Spain, France and Italy would be affected by the provision called for. French and Italian electoral law, however, already provide for such a threshold, set at 5% and 4% respectively. In order to bring Spain on board, the proposed Bulgarian compromise sets a final deadline of 2024 for bringing in a minimum threshold percentage of votes for election.
Belgium and to a lesser extent, Poland oppose this position, in some way similar to what Wallonia did with regard to the EU-Canada trade agreement (CETA). The Flemish National Party, N-VA, a member of the governing coalition in Belgium, could make use of this issue to ensure more regional elected representatives speaking for Belgium. The N-VA, a member of the ECR Group in the European Parliament, fears that, with the departure of the British Conservatives, it will be more difficult, after 2019 to form a political group if it becomes more difficult for some German candidates with ideas close to those of the N-VA to be elected.
“Discussions are taking place, the federal position has yet to be agreed and could change”, a diplomat said.
Votes for nationals living in third countries. The proposed Bulgarian compromise also encourages the member states to take measures to allow their nationals established in third countries to vote in the European elections.
Hungary had warned that it would reject the entire reform if this was not carried. Ireland, on the other hand, aware that there are more Irish outside the EU than on the island, was less than enthusiastic. “This was a bitterly disputed point”, said a source close to the matter.
The other points of the reform of EU electoral law called for by MEPs have been significantly watered down, according to several sources contacted by EUROPE.
The member states will, for example, have to ensure that candidate lists are available at least three weeks before the European election day, rather than the four weeks sought by Parliament. The relevant national authorities are urged to increase cooperation to ensure that no one can vote more than once. If such an infringement is detected, penalties should apply.
If they wish, member states will be able to promote electronic voting and call on national parties to display on voting papers the logo of the European party to which they are affiliated. Mention in the text of gender balance within lists is now only in a recital.
It should be noted that Council agreement on reform of EU electoral law will not contain any suggestion of creating a European constituency that would allow MEPs to be elected from transnational lists. At the end of 2015, Parliament backed this move but, in February, because of EPP Group opposition, it was ultimately rejected against the advice of the constitutional affairs committee (see EUROPE 11956). The 27 leaders thereafter agreed to postpone the debate on this issue until the 2024 European elections (see EUROPE 11968).
If agreement is reached at Tuesday’s General Affairs Council, the proposal for reform of EU electoral law will have to be approved by mutual consent by Parliament with which informal discussions have been continuing these last few weeks.
“It will be difficult to achieve an absolute majority in Parliament. However, if there is unanimous agreement in Council, it will be difficult to say no”, a Parliamentary source said. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)