Activites

• 2013/07/04 Results of vote in Parliament
  • Results of vote in Parliament
  • T7-0323/2013 summary

    The European Parliament adopted by 507 to 120, with 18 abstentions, a resolution on improving the practical arrangements for the holding of the European elections in 2014. Members recall that the 2014 elections will be the first to take place after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty – which widens significantly the powers of the European Parliament, including its role in the election of the President of the Commission. Recalling that it has been agreed that the polling days of the election are to be brought forward to 22-25 May 2014, Parliament consider that turnout at the elections is likely to be enhanced by a lively political campaign in which political parties and their candidates compete for votes and seats on the basis of alternative programmes that address the European dimension of politics. It also stresses that the resolution of the current crisis of governance in the EU requires a fuller democratic legitimation of the integration process. In this context, Parliament expects the candidates to commit themselves, if elected, to taking up their mandates to serve as Members of the European Parliament. It calls upon the political parties to: ensure that the names of the candidates selected to stand for election to the European Parliament are made public at least six weeks before the start of polling; press for a higher proportion of women on the lists of candidates; see to it that the names – and , where appropriate, the emblems – of the European political parties appear on the ballot paper; adopt democratic and transparent procedures for the selection of candidates for election to the European Parliament and for the Presidency of the Commission. The national political parties are called upon to: inform citizens, before and during the electoral campaign, about their affiliation with a European political party and their support for its candidate for the Commission presidency and for his or her political programme; include on their lists of candidates EU citizens residing in Member States other than their own. The European political parties are invited to: nominate their candidates for the Commission presidency sufficiently well in advance of the election for them to be able to mount a significant, European-wide campaign that concentrates on European issues that are based on the party platform and on the programme of their candidate for the Commission presidency; hold a series of public debates between the candidates nominated for the Commission presidency. For their part, Member States are asked to: organise a public campaign to encourage citizens to turn out to vote, with the aim of halting falling participation rates; permit political broadcasts by the European political parties; take all necessary steps to give effective implementation to the measures agreed on to assist citizens who wish to vote or stand as candidates in states other than their own; ensure that no official results are published until after the close of poll in the Member State whose electors are the last to vote on Sunday 25 May 2014. Members recall that the President of the European Commission is elected by Parliament on the proposal of the European Council, which must take into account the results of the elections and must consult the new Parliament before making its nomination(s). In this context, Members propose that detailed arrangements for the consultations between Parliament and the European Council on the election of the new Commission President should be agreed by common accord in good time before the elections. According to them, the candidate for Commission President put forward by the European political party that wins the most seats in the Parliament will be the first to be considered, with a view to ascertaining his or her ability to secure the support of the necessary absolute majority in Parliament.

• 2013/07/03 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2013/06/12 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • A7-0219/2013 summary

    The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted the own-initiative report by Andrew DUFF (ADLE, UK) on improving the practical arrangements for the holding of the European elections in 2014. Members recall that the 2014 elections will be the first to take place after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty – which widens significantly the powers of the European Parliament, including its role in the election of the President of the Commission. They consider that turnout at the elections is likely to be enhanced by a lively political campaign in which political parties and their candidates compete for votes and seats on the basis of alternative programmes that address the European dimension of politics. They also stress that he resolution of the current crisis of governance in the EU requires a fuller democratic legitimation of the integration process. In this context, the report calls upon the political parties to: ·        ensure that the names of the candidates selected to stand for election to the European Parliament are made public at least six weeks before the start of polling; ·        press for a higher proportion of women on the lists of candidates; ·        see to it that the names – and , where appropriate, the emblems – of the European political parties appear on the ballot paper; ·        inform citizens, before and during the electoral campaign, about their affiliation with a European political party and their support for its candidate for the Commission presidency and for his or her political programme; ·        the European political parties are asked to nominate their candidates for the Commission presidency sufficiently well in advance of the election for them to be able to mount a significant, European-wide campaign that concentrates on European issues that are based on the party platform and on the programme of their candidate for the Commission presidency. For their part, Member States are asked to: ·        organise a public campaign to encourage citizens to turn out to vote, with the aim of halting falling participation rates; ·        permit political broadcasts by the European political parties; ·        take all necessary steps to give effective implementation to the measures agreed on to assist citizens who wish to vote or stand as candidates in states other than their own; ·        ensure that no official results are published until after the close of poll in the Member State whose electors are the last to vote on Sunday 25 May 2014. Lastly, the report recalls that the President of the European Commission is elected by Parliament on the proposal of the European Council, which must take into account the results of the elections and must consult the new Parliament before making its nomination(s). Members expect that, in this process, the candidate for Commission President put forward by the European political party that wins the most seats in the Parliament will be the first to be considered, with a view to ascertaining his or her ability to secure the support of the necessary absolute majority in Parliament.

• 2013/06/10 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2013/05/28 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 2013/03/12 Non-legislative basic document published
  • COM(2013)0126 summary

    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 Union’s 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 Commission’s 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.

  • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/justice/', 'title': 'Justice'}, REDING Viviane

Documents

• Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2013)0126
• Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A7-0219/2013
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T7-0323/2013

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)