PURPOSE: outline initiatives with a view to enhancing
the democratic and efficient conduct of the next European elections
in 2014.
BACKGROUND: the 2014 European elections will be the
first since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. The European
Commission is committed to fully exploiting existing Lisbon
provisions to further enhance transparency and the European
dimension of the European elections, thereby reinforcing the
democratic legitimacy of the EU decision-making process and
bringing the system closer to Union citizens.
The Lisbon Treaty has strengthened the democratic
foundations of the Union:
- the citizens perspective is further affirmed in
the new definition of members of the European Parliament as
representatives of the Unions
citizens;
- the role of the European Parliament as the
representative democratic assembly of the Union has been
underscored by the Lisbon Treaty. It also grants enhanced powers to
the European Parliament, consolidating its role as full
co-legislator alongside the Council;
- it introduces the citizens initiative to
enable EU citizens to participate more directly and fully in the
democratic life of the Union.
In view of the reinforced role and powers of the
European Parliament, it is essential to enhance and to give more
prominence to the process for electing its Members. This is
particularly relevant in view of the actions required at EU level
to address the financial and sovereign debt crisis. The elections
will be all the more important as the European Union is taking
major steps towards genuine Economic and Monetary Union, of
which democratic legitimacy is a cornerstone.
The Commission considers that integration and
legitimacy have to advance in parallel. More democracy is the
corollary of the greater institutional integration needed to
enable the European Union to rise to current global challenges. In
this respect, there is a pressing need to strengthen links between
EU citizens and the democratic process of the Union.
CONTENT: this Communication
outlines the Commissions initiatives to facilitate
citizens participation in the 2014 European elections and
to safeguard the respect of the democratic principles of these
elections. It is accompanied by a Recommendation intended to
enhance the democratic and efficient conduct of the European
elections.
In view of the European elections of 2014, the
Commission believes that:
- voters should be informed of the affiliation between
national parties and European political parties before and during
elections to the European Parliament;
- Member States should agree on a common day for
the elections of the European Parliament, with polling stations
closing at the same time;
- each European political party should nominate its
candidate for President of the
European Commission, as requested for by the European Parliament in
its resolution of 22 November
2012;
- national parties should
ensure that their political broadcasts in view of European
Parliament elections inform citizens about the candidate they
support for President of the European Commission and the
candidate's programme.
In addition, as a follow-up to the 2010 EU Citizenship report,
the Commission highlights the following:
- enforcing the electoral rights of EU citizens residing
in a Member State other than their own: the Commission contacted Member States to ensure
that the voting rights of EU citizens residing in a Member State
other than their own are fully enforced across the EU;
- ensuring respect for the common principles of the
European elections: these principles
set out in EU law prohibit inter alia the publication of results in
one Member State before the polls close in all Member
States;
- enhancing participation of non-national EU candidates
in the European elections: following
a relaunching of negotiations by the Commission, the Council
adopted Directive 2013/1/EU, amending Directive 93/109/EC, which
provides inter alia that candidates no longer have to
provide proof that they have not been deprived of their electoral
rights in their home Member State. Instead, they will have to make
a formal declaration to that effect, to be verified by the
electoral authorities in the Member State in which they reside.
This simplified procedure will apply in the 2014 European
elections.
The Commission believes that these practical
recommendations, evolutionary but not revolutionary, can be
implemented in time for the European Parliament elections of
2014.
The European Year of Citizens is an opportunity
for citizens of the Union to make their voices heard. The prime
occasion for this purpose are the European Parliament
elections.