Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Towards more democratic European Parliament elections. Report on the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations of 12 March 2013 on enhancing the democratic and efficient conduct of the elections to the European Parliament

The European elections are the cornerstone of the democratic process in the EU as laid down in the Treaties. A majority of EU citizens consider that participating in European Parliament elections is the best way of ensuring that their voice is heard by EU decision-makers.

The 2014 elections will be particularly important. They will be the first since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which strengthened the democratic foundations of the Union and reinforced the role and the powers of the European Parliament. They are also taking place at a key moment for European integration, in a context where the EU is taking decisive action to exit the crisis which has far reaching consequences amongst citizens.

Important decisions will be made for the further development of the EU based on the results of this year’s European elections. It is more important than ever that EU citizens vote in large numbers. Decisive steps must therefore be taken to bridge the gap between EU politics and citizens. Citizens will only cast their ballot if they see that they are offered a choice and that their vote will make a difference.

All European institutions are seeking to make the European democratic process more transparent and encourage greater ownership by European voters.

On 12 March 2013 the Commission adopted Recommendation 2013/142/EU on enhancing the democratic and efficient conduct of the elections to the European Parliament, which was addressed to the Member States and to the European and national political parties. The European Parliament has also adopted resolutions to this effect.

Recommendation 2013/142/EC was divided into two main strands:

The first set of recommendations aimed to strengthen the transparency of the elections and the democratic legitimacy of the decision-making process in the Union. The Commission recommended that ahead of the elections voters are told about the affiliation between national and European political parties. National and European political parties should also set out their preferred candidate for President of the European Commission, and give details of their candidate’s programme. National political parties should use their political broadcasts to inform citizens about their party’s candidate and the candidate’s programme. Such measures would establish practical and visible links between the citizens’ vote and the European political parties. They would add to the democratic legitimacy of the EU decision-making process and encourage a genuine pan-European debate around the candidates’ vision for Europe. The Commission also recommended that a common voting day across the EU be agreed upon.

The second set of recommendations was addressed to Member States and aimed to increase the efficiency of the elections by streamlining procedures for the implementation of the right of EU citizens to vote and stand as candidates in their Member State of residence, laid down in Directive 93/109/EC. These recommendations, when implemented by Member States, should further improve the efficiency of the elections and, at the same time, decrease the administrative burden on Member States.

This report looks at how these recommendations were implemented by Member States and the national and European political parties. It also looks at how they were taken up by other institutions and by civil society.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)196: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:196:FIN

ESO: Background information: European Parliament: Election, May 2014 http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-parliament-election-may-2014/

ESO: Background information: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Preparing for the 2014 European elections: further enhancing their democratic and efficient conduct http://www.europeansources.info/record/communication-from-the-commission-to-the-european-parliament-the-council-the-european-economic-and-social-committee-and-the-committee-of-the-regions-preparing-for-the-2014-european-elections-furth/

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