What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Removed:MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

Added:P9_TA(2022)0129

Changed:onElection of the reformMembers of the electoralEuropean lawParliament ofby thedirect Europeanuniversal Unionsuffrage

Removed:(2020/2220(INL))

Added:Committee on Constitutional Affairs

Added:PE693.622

Added:European Parliament legislative resolution of 3 May 2022 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, repealing Council Decision (76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom) and the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage annexed to that Decision (2020/2220(INL) – 2022/0902(APP))

9 unchanged paragraphs

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Declaration of 9 May 1950 that proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) as a first step in the federation of Europe,

– having regard to the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage ("the Electoral Act") annexed to Council decision 76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom of 20 September 1976, as amended by Council Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom, of 25 June and 23 September 2002, and by Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 2018,

– having regard to the Treaties and in particular to Articles 2, 3, 9, 10, 14 and 17(7) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and to Articles 8, 20, 22, 223(1) and 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and to Article 2 of Protocol No 1 on the role of national parliaments in the European Union,

– having regard to Protocol No 7 on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Union,

– 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,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on the European Parliament’s electoral procedure, and in particular its resolution of 15 July 1998 on a draft electoral procedure incorporating common principles for the election of Members of the European Parliament, its resolution of 22 November 2012 on the elections to the European Parliament in 2014, its resolution of 4 July 2013 on improving the practical arrangements for the holding of the European elections in 2014, and its resolution of 11 November 2015 on the Reform of the electoral law of the EU,

– having regard to its resolutions of 13 March 2013 and 7 February 2018 on the composition of the European Parliament,

– having regard to its resolution of 26 November 2020 on stocktaking of European elections,

Changed:– having regard to Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations, and in particular Articles 13, 21 and 31 thereof,

Changed:– having regard to the Framework Agreement of 20 October 2010 on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission, as modified on 7 February 2018,

Changed:– having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee information report on real rights of persons with disabilities to vote in European Parliament Electionselections adopted in its plenary session on 20 March 2019 and its additional opinion on the need to guarantee real rights for persons with disabilities to vote in European Parliament Electionselections adopted on 2 December 2020,

– having regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), ratified by the EU in 2010, and by all Member States, and Article 29 thereof on participation in political and public life,

Changed:– having regard to Commission Communication (2021)101 of 3 March 2021 entitled "Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030",2021-2030" (COM(2021)0101),

Changed:– having regard to Commission Communication 2020/790/EU of 3 December 2020 on the European democracy action plan,plan (COM(2020)0790),

– having regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Charter), and in particular Articles 11, 21, 23 and 39 thereof,

– having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights, and in particular its principle 1,

– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in particular Article 25 thereof,

Removed:– having regard to the European Economic and Social Committee's information report of March 2019 on the reality of the right to vote in European elections for people with disabilities,

5 unchanged paragraphs

– having regard to the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on gender equality, in particular its action plan for gender-sensitive parliaments,

– having regard to the State of the Union 2021 speech in which Ursula von der Leyen announced that the year 2022 will be the year of youth,

– having regard to the Commission's proposal for the European Year of Youth 2022,

– having regard to Rules 46 and 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A9-0083/2022),

Change 1

Changed:A. whereas since 1976, when the European Electoral Act paved the way for the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage for the first time, the European Parliament has continuously requested the reform of European electoral law and moves towards a more a genuine, uniform and European electoral procedure;

B. whereas the Lisbon Treaty has offered a positive step forward by confirming the right of the European Parliament to initiate a proposal on the Electoral Act as well as on its composition;

Change 2

Changed:C. whereas other important changes in the Lisbon Treaty concerned in particular the wording of Article 14 TEU, stating that the Parliament is to be composed of representatives of the citizens of the Union and not peoples of the Member States, as well as the reference to the Parliament’s role in the election of the President of the European Commission, who should be elected taking into account the results of the European Parliament elections;

Change 3

Changed:D. whereas the procedure for the 2014 elections set a precedent for the role of the Parliament in the selection of the President of the Commission; whereas it was not possible for that procedure to become part of an overall reform of European electoral law, which contributed to creating the political background for the unexpected disapplication of the lead candidate principle following the European elections of 2019; whereas the lead candidate whose European political entity has received the overall highest number of seats should be tasked first with forming a coalition majority in the newly elected Parliament as regards the nomination of a candidate for President of the European Commission; whereas in case a coalition majority cannot be reached, the task should be assigned to the next lead candidate; whereas itParliament expects the President of the European Council to consult the said leaders of the European political entities and parliamentary groups in order to inform the nomination process, and considers that this lead candidate process could be formalised by a political agreement between the European political entities and by an Inter-InstitutionalInterinstitutional Agreement between Parliament and European Council;

E. whereas some existing common provisions in the current European Electoral Act show the way towards necessary improvements, including those which provide for candidates to be elected by proportional representation using a list system or a single transferable vote system; for the freedom to establish constituencies at national level; for the introduction of a maximum electoral threshold of 5% in the national constituencies as a means of guaranteeing that the Parliament is able to function; and for the prohibition of MEPs to hold a dual mandate in national and European Parliament;

Change 4

Changed:F. whereas, despite some steps forward in defining common standards of electoral procedures for the European Parliament, today EUEuropean elections are still mostly governed by national laws and therefore more improvements are needed to establish a genuinely uniform procedure for European elections;

Change 5

Changed:G. whereas the turnout registered in the 2019 European elections was the highest of any elections to the European Parliament in the last 20 years; whereas the participation rate hides wide disparities between Member States; whereas increased turnout is a positive signal and shows that citizens, and in particular the youngest generations of the Union are taking an increasing interest in the development of the European integration, as indicated also by the results of the special Eurobarometer of 9 March 2021; whereas this rate still means that only half of the Union citizens took part; whereas increased interest in European elections signals that Union citizens demand swift action from the Union in the field of climate change, economic recovery, the protection of human rights and rule of law, migration, and the role of the European Union in international relations; whereas communication efforts must be made to increase citizen’s interest in European issues and the role of European political parties and foundations in thisthat regard;

Change 6

Changed:H. whereas the trend of a growing voter turnout can be improved if the connection and accountability between voters and candidates are strengthened and the EU-wideUnion-wide dimension is fostered;

I. whereas a functioning electoral system builds trust and support among the population and increases the confidence of citizens of the Union in their capacity to change society democratically by voting;

Change 7

Changed:J. whereas the approval by Member States of Council’sCouncil Decision (EU, Euratom) 2018/994 of 13 July 2018 is still pending but does not preclude the necessary changes in the Union’s electoral systems;

K. whereas growing political momentum across Europe could offer the possibility of introducing elements and provisions that strengthen the European dimension of the elections;

Change 8

Changed:L. whereas an appropriate approach to reforming the European electoral law should be based on respect for the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and the introduction of common minimum standards ;standards;

Change 9

Changed:M. whereas the reform of the European Parliament's electoral procedure should aim to enhance the democratic and transnational public debate and dimension of the European elections and the democratic legitimacy of the Union decision-making process, reinforce citizenship in the Union, improve the functioning of the European Parliament and the governance of the Union, make the work of the European Parliament more legitimate and legislative by giving it a genuine right of initiative, strengthen the principles of electoral equality and equal opportunities, especially between women and men, enhance the effectiveness of the system for conducting European elections, and bring Members of the European Parliament closer to their voters, and in particular the youngest amongst them;

Change 10

Changed:N. whereas the Recommendation 16 of the European Citizens’ Panel 2 on European democracy / Values and rights, rule of law, security of the Conference on the Future of Europe calls for an electoral law for the European Parliament that harmonizes electoral conditions (voting age, election date, requirements for electoral districts, candidates, political parties and their financing), and for European citizens to have the right to vote for different European Union level parties that each consist of candidates from multiple Member States, and that during a sufficient transition period, citizens could still vote for both national and transnational parties”;parties;

Change 11

Changed:O. whereas the Youth Ideas Report released as the outcome of the European Youth Event (EYE) from 22 to -23 October 2021 suggests using transnational lists, where voters would be given a list of national candidates, and an additional list with candidates from all Member States; whereas itthat report also supports the enforcement of the lead candidate process;

Change 12

Changed:P. whereas the Third interimInterim reportReport of the multilingual digital platform of the Conference on the Future of Europe, consideredconsiders that one of the more frequently discussed proposals, and a widely endorsed idea, concerns the creation of EU-wide transnational electoral lists;

Q. whereas the midterm political agreement “Our priorities for Europeans” endorsed on 17 January 2022 by the leaders of the EPP, S&D and Renew Groups, called for a “lead candidate process combined with transnational lists with a sufficient number of seats to be in place for the next European elections”;

Change 13

Changed:R. whereas the principles of proportionality and equal opportunities have to be considered in regards to minorities, which are underrepresented in the European Parliament; whereas approximately 20 MEPs out of 705 declare belongingthat they belong to a minority (=2,8%); whereas the Venice Commission acknowledges the role of guaranteed reserved seats for members of national minorities, lower electoral thresholds in proportional electoral systems for parties representing national minorities or the designation of electoral districts with the purpose to enhance the minorities' participation in the decision-making process;

S. whereas the possibility of developing a uniform electoral procedure based on direct universal suffrage has been enshrined in the Treaties since 1957;

T. whereas the right of all citizens of the Union to participate, on an equal basis, in the democratic life of the Union would be promoted by an increasing harmonisation of the procedure for elections to the European Parliament in all the Member States, which would also strengthen the political dimension of European integration;

Change 14

Changed:U. whereas European political parties "contributecontribute to forming European political awareness"awareness and should therefore play a stronger role in the campaigns for Parliament elections to the European Parliament in order to improve their visibility and to make clear the link between a vote for a particular national party and the impact it has on the size of a European political group in the European Parliament and on the nomination of the President of the European Commission;

Change 15

Changed:V. whereas associations of voters or electoral entities which do not belong to a European political party are called to play a role in the campaigns for Parliament elections to the European Parliament in order to increase citizensthe involvement of citizens in the election processes;process;

Change 16

Changed:W. whereas the procedure for nominating candidates for elections to the European Parliament varies considerably from Member State to Member State and from party to party, in particular as regards transparency, democratic,democratic and gender equality standards:standards; whereas, however, open, transparent and democratic procedures respecting gender equality for the selection of candidates are essential for building trust in the political system;

X. whereas the deadlines for finalising electoral lists ahead of European elections vary greatly among Member States, currently ranging from 17 days to 83 days; whereas this puts candidates and voters across the Union in an unequal position when it comes to the time they have to campaign or to reflect on their voting choice;

Y. whereas the deadlines for finalising the electoral roll ahead of European elections vary greatly among Member States and could render the exchange of information between Member States on voters (which is aimed at the avoidance of double voting) difficult, if not impossible;

Change 17

Changed:Z. whereas the establishment of a Union-wide constituency in which lists are headed by each political family’s candidate for the post of President of the Commission would strengthen European democracy and further legitimise the election of the President of the Commission and his/herhis or her accountability; whereas this could contribute to the construction of a European political space and to make the elections forto the European Parliament truly based on European issues and not on issues of exclusively national interest;

Change 18

Changed:AA. whereas at their informal meeting on 23 February 2018, the Heads of State and Government decided to continue thetheir reflection,reflections, as well as the technical, legal and political work, on the issue of the transnational lists being set up for the 2024 elections;

Change 19

Changed:AB. whereas not all Member States give their citizens the possibility of voting from abroad, and among those that do, the conditions for granting them theirthe right to vote vary greatly; whereas granting all citizens of the Union residing outside the Union the right to participate in elections would contribute to electoral equality; whereas, however, Member States need to coordinate their administrative systems better in order to prevent voters from voting in two different Member States;

Change 20

Changed:AC. whereas many people with disabilities want to vote at a polling station; whereas in 12 Member States national rules do not make it possible to switch from the polling station assigned on the basis of place of residence to another which is more suitable in the light of athe voter's disability; whereas Article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilitiesUNCRPD explicitly stipulates that the States Parties undertake to ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others; whereas any barriers to the right to vote and to stand as candidate for persons with disabilities, especially legal barriers for adults with disabilities declared legally incapacitated should be removed, guaranteeing accessibility throughout the election process, including by providing additional participation systems to exercise the right to vote, in particular through postal voting;