31 Amendments of Guy VERHOFSTADT related to 2023/2016(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
– having regard to Council Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals,
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the proposal for a for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (recast),
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)
Citation 5 b (new)
– having regard to the proposal for a Council Directive laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 c (new)
Citation 5 c (new)
– having regard to the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertising
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 d (new)
Citation 5 d (new)
– having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the European democracy action plan
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the reform of the European Electoral Law would address the current fragmentation into 27 different electoral systems and it would make electoral rules more modern and uniform withinfit for purpose and consistent throughout the EU; whereas for example the deadline for registering on the electoral roll varies greatly from one Member State to another, ranging from 90 days to 3 days prior to elections;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the failure to implement the lead candidate system has led to disappointment among many voters; whereas such a disappointment must be avoided2019 elections did not culminate in the choice of a Commission President through the lead candidate system, also as a result of the failure to reform the European Electoral Law, which resulted in reduced trust in the process; whereas the election of the Commission President depends on securing the support of the majority of Members of the European Parliament; whereas only some of the EU citizens who took part in the European elections believed that their vote could make a difference when it came to the election of the President of the Commission, highlighting the need to raise awareness of the process among EU citizens; whereas the procedure should be fully complied with at the next European elections;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas several Member States still restrict voting rights and/or have not adequately addressed persisting barriers for people with disabilities, thus preventing the meaningful participation and representation of these citizens in democratic processes;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. Whereas the full exercise of the electoral rights granted by the Treaties to mobile citizens in elections to the European Parliament is still hampered by unjustified barriers to democratic participation, such as the lack of awareness regarding conditions and rules applicable to the registration into the electoral rolls of the Member of State of residence;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. Whereas the Commission has issued a legislative proposal amending Council Directive 93/109 laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for Union citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals; Whereas Parliament has adopted its position on 13 December 2022; whereas this proposal should among others enable mobile citizens to register for the electoral roll as soon as they register for residence, strengthen existing information requirements, ensure the same standards for the submission of candidacies for national and mobile EU citizens and facilitate the exercise of the right to vote by vulnerable and marginalised groups;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. Whereas political campaigns for the European elections conducted in the Member States too often are insufficiently “European”, but rather are dominated by policy discussions of a purely national, regional and local nature; whereas political parties and candidates have a responsibility to adequately inform citizens on the policy challenges at EU level;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises the important role of European political parties and foundations in contributing to the debate on European public policy issues and in forming European political awareness; noteregrets, however, that owing to restrictive measures at European and national levels,ons under the current EU and national regulatory frameworks prevent European political parties cannotfrom fully participateing in European election campaigns; stresseregrets, moreover, that they are not allowed to campaign in national referendums that concern European matters; stresses that these restrictions prevent them from fully assuming their core task as set forth in Article 10.4 TFEU; encourages European political parties to reach an agreement on how to adapt the provisions in this resolution to developconduct the electoral campaign to the European elections and on how to proceed during the post-electoral process;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the enhanced visibility of European political parties in public debates and media campaigns; insists that all national political parties should make the logos of the European political parties visible on ballotsnational political parties should consistently identify their European counterpart in their public communication and that the logos of the European political parties should be made visible on ballots; points to the ongoing negotiations on the draft proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (recast) and encourages European political parties and foundations to comply with the foreseen new provisions before they are formally adopted and in force, in particular during the upcoming electoral campaign; calls on the European political parties to draft manifestos in good time ahead of the elections so as to be able to share their proposals; considers that European political parties’ manifestos should be known before the elections, which requires clear and transparent rules on campaigning;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that the electoral campaign for European elections should favour competition between national and European political parties on the basis on their programmes and policy planning regarding the EU; Regrets the practice of some national political parties and candidates to focus their electoral campaigns ahead of European elections on purely national-specific topics; Calls on European Political Parties to encourage their Member parties to use the European Manifestos as the basis for conducting their electoral campaigns;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Points out that the introduction of transnational lists would further empower European political parties as key actors in European politics, enabling them to participate in and help shape European representative democracy;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Recalls in this respect that Parliament, in its proposal of 3 May 2022 on the reform of the European electoral law, has proposed the establishment of a Union-wide constituency for the elections to the European Parliament, allowing citizens to directly vote for both a transnational and a national list;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Regrets that the lead candidate system for the election of the President of the European Commission was not implemented at the last European elections; regrets further a lack of progress on this issue since 2019; acknowledges that this led to disappointment among many voters as a consequence of the failure to reform the European electoral law; believes that a clear and credible link between the choice of voters and the election of the Commission President is needed; calls on the European political parties, national political parties and national governments to work together to ensure this outcome at the next elections; points out, however, that the election of the Commission President always depends on securing the support of the majority of Members of the European Parliament so that the electoral results are fully taken into account, as envisaged in the Lisbon Treaty;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Highlights, however, that without transnational lists, the lead candidate system lacks full democratic legitimacy, since European citizens are prevented from directly voting for their preferred candidate to the Commission Presidency
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Expects European political parties to nominate their candidates for theop EU position of President of the Commissions at least 12 weeks before election day;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for the establishment of an interinstitutional agreement between the Parliament and the European Council on the lead candidate system within the framework of Article 17(7) TEU, following the adoption of the European Parliament Proposal adopted on 3 May 2022 on the new European electoral law; asks the President of the European Parliament to immediately start the preparatory work leading to such an agreement after the first session of the new Parliament following the elections; believes that European political parties and their respective parliamentary groups should engage in negotiations after the next European election to agree on behalf of the European Parliament on a common candidate to preside over the Commission before the European Council makes its proposal;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Believes that establishing a single common European voting day would create a more coherent pan-European election and therefore suggests fixing 9 May as the European Election day, regardless of the day of the week on which it falls, with the possibility of that day becoming a public holiday;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls for the swift approval by the Council of the European Union of the entire European Parliament Proposal adopted on 3 May 2022 on the new European electoral law; Expects the Council to reach a balanced compromise even on the most far-reaching parts of Parliament’s proposal;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls for a reform of the Treaties and in particular of Article 223 TFEU on, with a view to allow the provisions necessary for the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage; to be adopted by the Ordinary Legislative Procedure
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Recalls that Parliament has adopted a resolution3a and a Report containing proposals for the amendment of the Treaties, among others to increase the EU’s democratic legitimacy, and to grant a proper follow-up to the proposals adopted by the Conference on the Future of Europe; _________________ 3a P9_TA(2022)0244
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Notes that the 2024 elections represent a unique occasion to commence a EU-wide debate on the reform of the Union on the basis of the proposals for the reform of the Treaties put forward by Parliament; Calls on the European Council to expeditiously adopt a position on the holding up of a convention after the adoption by Parliament of the abovementioned Report; calls on national and European political parties to make the persisting institutional challenges at EU level a focal point of their electoral campaigns;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Recalls that the Conference on the Future of Europe served as a Union-wide bottom-up democratic exercise aiming at identifying the short, medium, and long- term objectives of the EU in a wide-array of policy areas, such as environmental policy, external action of the Union, and institutional reforms; Calls on European Political Parties to discuss with the electorate the proposals which stem from the Conference;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 2
Subheading 2
Citizens’ participation and enfranchisementpolitical rights
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers it essential to guarantee that all citizens of the Union who have the right to vote and stand as a candidate, including mobile Union citizens, citizens with disabilities and citizens in a situation of homelessness, are able to exercise that right; points out that the creation of a single European electoral certificate could help implement the rights guaranteed by the Treaties for mobile citizens;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates its call on Member States to allow all citizens of the Union living or working in a third country to be granted the right to cast their vote in elections to the European Parliament; Regrets that the lack of progress in the Council on the Commission proposal on a Council Directive laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for mobile Union citizens in elections to the European Parliament will prevent the entry into force of the innovations put forward by Commission and Parliament in time for the 2024 Elections;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Acknowledges the efforts made by the EU institutions to tackle disinformation and foreign interference, such as the 2022 Code of Practice on Disinformation and the Rapid Alert System; highlights, nonetheless, the need for more robust safeguards and measures against disinformation and internal and external interference in the electoral process; commits to step up its efforts in combating foreign interference attempts within the European Parliament;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Points to the ongoing interinstitutional negotiations on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transparency and targeting of political advertising; calls on the Commission and the Council to pursue interinstitutional negotiations in the spirit of sincere cooperation, with a view to allow its legal provisions to be in force ahead of the electoral campaign for the 2024 European elections;