The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) published on Tuesday 4 June its analysis of racial and ethnic minority representation after the results of the European elections on 26 May. Their observation is clear: the minorities remain largely under-represented in the European Parliament compared to their proportion in the total EU population, which is estimated at 10%.
According to the ENAR study, in the new European Parliament they would only represent 5%, or 36 MEPs - a figure that would drop to 4% after Brexit.
Nevertheless, the organisation observes an increase in the representation of ethnic minorities compared to the previous legislature. In particular, it lists 30 “people of colour (non-white)” in the new European Parliament, compared to 18 in the previous one. “There will be 6 black women in the European Parliament, compared to just one in the last mandate”, she said.
Of the 36 elected deputies, 6 are from national minorities, 7 are of African descent, 6 are of North African origin, 6 are of Middle Eastern descent, 6 are of South Asian origin and 3 are Romani.
As regards political representativeness, 8 MEPs will sit on the ALDE group, 8 from the Greens/EFA, 5 from the EPP, 5 from the S&D, 4 from the ECR group, 4 from the GUE/NGL and 2 will join the far right.
Only 13 of the 28 EU Member States elected members of parliament from ethnic minorities. ENAR explains this under-representation by various factors, such as structural racism, exclusion in society, direct discrimination in voting, or a low proportion of candidates from ethnic minorities.
For ENAR, the problem of representation in European policy-making goes beyond the European Parliament and applies to all European institutions.
“All institutions must prioritise diversity and representation of racial and ethnic minorities as an urgent issue for democratic legitimacy”, the organisation said. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)