The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union is seeking a balance in the interinstitutional negotiations with the European Parliament on the reform of the statutes of European political parties—a dossier that is particularly urgent in the light of the reported scandal concerning corruption by third countries that has tarnished the European Parliament’s reputation (see EUROPE 13108/16).
Swedish authorities suggest that Member States make certain concessions to the European Parliament, notably concessions on parties from countries outside the EU participating in a European political party. Whereas the EU Council’s mandate prohibits any participation by parties that were not established in the EU (see EUROPE 12916/23), Sweden is proposing to broaden participation to parties from EFTA countries, former Member States, or EU candidate countries. The Swedish Presidency would have liked for the concept of ‘potential candidate’ countries to be included in the scope, but this term has not been legally defined to a sufficient extent.
For their part, MEPs are not shutting the door on parties from Council of Europe member states participating in a European political party, even if democratic safeguards are added to this criterion (see EUROPE 12992/3).
This openness will be tested when EU Member States’ permanent representatives (Coreper) meet on Wednesday, 8 March—the Swedish Presidency hoping to receive a revised mandate in order to relaunch negotiations with the European Parliament. It is accompanied by safeguards that aim to limit the risks of foreign interference. Parties from countries outside the EU would only be associates, their role in a European party’s governance and decision-making would be limited, and, in number, they would be no more than 15% of the total number of member parties of a European party. They would not be able to be subject to European sanctions, and their activities would be monitored in order to ensure that they respect fundamental European values at all times.
These non-EU associate parties would not be allowed to contribute financially to a European party’s budget. Thus, a party like the UK’s Labour Party, which is a big contributor to the budget of the Party of European Socialists, would no longer be allowed to make financial contributions. The Swedish Presidency understands that European parties are putting themselves at risk of having financial problems. On this point, it maintains the approach used by the Czech Presidency, its predecessor, on the possibility of increasing a European party’s cofinancing rate—from 90% (as provided for in the EU Council’s mandate) to 95%—every year, including election years, provided that the European Parliament agrees to prohibit financial contributions from non-EU parties.
Time is running out. The European Parliament and the EU Council need to reach a political agreement in March or even April—namely, one year before the May 2024 European elections—so that the European Parliament can launch the procedures regarding European parties’ financial support in time. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)