It’s not just a feeling: elections in Europe do take place all the time. European Democracy Consulting provides unique data and visualisations to understand the scope of this constant electioneering. Here is why we should care.
The European election, last May, was undoubtedly the major political element of 2019. Campaigns were fierce, the outcome closely observed, and its consequences ran until the end of the year with the arrival of the new Commission. Yet, one group of stakeholders was scarcely mentioned: European political parties.
Fifteen years after the 2004 “big bang” of EU enlargement, is there an East-West divide in the EU’s leadership? This quick review reveals a dramatic absence of entire regions which must be addressed.
Sixty years in, the EU still does not have a common election. More than ever, it is essential for our democracy and the equality of European citizens that we adopt a common voting system. The Bundestag gives us a fascinating way forward.
[Published by EuropeanConstitution.eu]
Transnational lists have emerged as a regular talking point. Yet, what may seem like a no-nonsense way to promote a “more European” Europe is, upon closer examination, unlikely to make our elections and politics more integrated, and completely foreign to the workings of federal systems. The ills it seeks to remedy are real, but the solution lies elsewhere.
[Published by EuropeanConstitution.eu]
‘Transnational lists’ in European elections would mean creating a Europe-wide constituency to give citizens a chance to vote for common candidates, in addition to national ones. It is the most oft-discussed idea for making European elections ‘more European’. However, we should instead focus on developing pan-European political parties.
[Published by The New Federalist]
Nationalist parties all across the EU have long been feeding off the Union’s lack of democracy and are bound to jump on the way the new leaders of EU institutions are elected to reinforce their message.
[Published by EURACTIV.com]
With over 400mn people eligible to vote, the recent European parliamentary election was the second-largest democratic exercise in the world. Yet, beyond the vote itself, how democratic really is the EU?
[Published by Friends of Europe]
Europe is about democracy. We cherish democracy in our national institutions by ensuring a healthy separation of powers, by fighting for free and fair elections, and by combining the rule of the majority with the protection of the minority. Let’s do the same at the European level.
[Published by EURACTIV.com with Andrew Duff]
