On Monday 28 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) will vote on the proposal to reform the European Union’s electoral law tabled by Domènec Ruiz Devesa (S&D, Spain).
According to our information, the compromise reached between the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe and the Greens/EFA groups earlier this month stands (see EUROPE 12907/21). In particular, it suggests the creation of an electoral constituency to elect MEPs from transnational lists, in addition to the classic national election.
In the first European elections to be held after this electoral reform, possibly as early as May 2024, the size of the transnational list will be 28 candidates. For the next elections, the European Council may decide to increase the number of candidates.
According to the compromise, a European political party, a European association of voters (a transnational association registered in at least a quarter of the states and representing at least 0.02% of the electorate), a European electoral coalition (an alliance of at least two European parties and/or European associations of voters joined by national parties and national associations of voters), a European coalition of national parties and associations of voters (present in at least a quarter of the States) could present a transnational list.
The distribution of the first fourteen candidates of a transnational list would follow a specific rule allowing a balanced representation of elected representatives according to their geographical origin.
As such, three groups of Member States will be created according to their population size: - Group A (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland) represents countries with a population of over 37.9 million; - Group B (Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic, Sweden, Portugal, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria) represents countries with populations between 6.9 and 19.3 million; - Group C (Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta) represents countries with populations between 0.5 and 5.8 million.
Inclusion on a transnational list would be based on trios of candidates from each of the three groups of countries mentioned above.
9 May is election day. The compromise on the electoral law reform expects that the European election will be held on 9 May, Europe Day.
The electoral lists at the national level, submitted twelve weeks before election day, should aim for gender equality among candidates, which becomes mandatory for the constituency. Any citizen who is at least 16 years old should be allowed to vote in elections without prejudice to existing national rules that may establish a higher legal age.
To improve voter turnout, one of the traditional weaknesses of European elections, postal voting will be allowed, including for voters residing in third countries. Member States will be invited to provide for the possibility of voting by electronic means.
The vote on the proposal in the plenary session is expected to take place in May.
All eyes will be on the EU Council, where the French Presidency wishes to move forward despite the difficulty of the dossier, which requires the unanimity of the Member States. A round table discussion could occur by the end of June at a General Affairs Council meeting. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)