If it depends on the European Parliament, so-called transnational electoral lists will be used in future European elections, in addition to the existing electoral lists per Member State. In this way 28 additional MEPs could be elected who compete for the favor of the voter across the Union.
Parliament approved his draft electoral law on Tuesday. The proponents did not have much margin: 323 MEPs voted in favour, 262 voted against and 48 abstained.
The voter is expected to cast two votes. One to elect the 705 MEPs who run in the different national constituencies, and one to designate 28 additional MPs who present themselves on transnational electoral lists.
In order to compile the latter lists in a geographically balanced way, according to the parliament, the 27 member states should be divided into three groups, based on their population size. Then the lists can be filled proportionally with candidates from those different groups.
According to Parliament, the President of the European Commission must also be elected on the basis of the transnational lists, who will then participate in the parliamentary elections as ‘Spitzenkandidat’.
European elections on one fixed day
The European elections, according to the parliament, attract more attention if they are no longer spread over four days, but take place on one fixed day. That must be May 9, whether that falls on an average Thursday, or on a religious day of rest or holiday. The next edition would take place on Ascension Day 2024.
In the future, women and men should alternate on the electoral list, according to parliament. Such a ‘zipper system’ should increase the number of female MEPs. Now an EU country like Cyprus only sends men to Brussels.
Member States still have to agree
The new electoral law still has to be approved by the Council, unanimously. Undoubtedly, the Member States will not simply agree with Parliament. For example, the capitals threaten to have to cut back on filling European top positions (in 2019 they conjured Ursula von der Leyen as Commission President out of their hat) and the traditional national election campaigns threaten to be broken up by the participation of pan-European candidates.
Yet, according to Guy Verhofstadt (Open Vld), precisely there lies the strength of the proposal. “We are making the vote for the Spitzenkandidat just that little bit more democratic by making it politically impossible for the Council to nominate someone else as Commission president,” he told Parliament.
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