This Sunday, some 427 million Europeans will go to the polls in the 28 EU Member States, including the United Kingdom, to elect their 751 representatives in the European Parliament (which would be reduced to 705 when the United Kingdom leaves). The European elections represent the festival of democracy with the largest number of voters, only behind those held in India. | |
How do you vote in the European ones?
The vote is held for four consecutive days, starting with the Dutch and British on May 23, and ending with 22 Member States, including Spain, on May 26. The results will be announced this Sunday from 11:00 p.m., once the Italian schools close.
The country that sends the most MEPs to the institution is Germany (96 seats), while none has less than 6 seats. The United Kingdom will still participate in these elections, since Brexit has not materialized. After the departure of the British, France and Spain will be the big winners among the countries that will increase their seats, each with an additional five. At the moment, we are sending 54 MEPs to Brussels and Strasbourg, the seats of Parliament.
How are MEPs elected in Spain? Our country belongs to the minority group of countries with closed lists, such as the French, German or Portuguese. We are part of the majority camp that does not include any electoral threshold to get elected. This factor, together with the single constituency that is applied, produces more proportional results in the European elections than in the national elections.
In our country, as well as in the majority, 18 years is the minimum age to be a candidate and be able to vote. However, Greeks and Italians require their candidates to have completed at least 25 years. In the Spanish case, as in most of the partners, . However, in some Member States (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland and Malta) only voting in person is possible. Estonia is the only EU country that allows electronic voting.
The vote does not imply a direct election of the President of the European Commission
What do we choose? The European Parliament is the only institution with representatives directly elected by the Europeans. In the Council, where the 28 Member States sit, or in the European Commission there may be ministers or commissioners who have not been chosen by their voters.
The vote does not imply a direct election of the President of the European Commission. However, to reinforce the democratic component of the appointment, and the link with the voters, the big parties supported the system of “main candidates” (Spitzenkandidaten, as it was designated in German) in the last 2014 elections. The gentlemen’s agreement, backed by European leaders, meant that member states would accept as president of the Commission the “main candidate” of the parties that could muster a majority in the Eurochamber after the vote. The chosen one was Jean-Claude Juncker, who had led the list of the European People’s Party, winner that year.
On this occasion, a group led by the French Emmanuel Macron opposes this automatism between the elections and the nomination of the head of the Community Executive. The EU treaties do not clarify the situation. They indicate that the heads of state and government of the EU are the ones who choose, “taking into account the elections to the European Parliament.” However, the one chosen by the leaders has to receive the final approval of the European Parliament, so the institution can reject the proposed name if they refuse to respect the Spitzenkandidaten and do not reach an agreement.
What functions does the European Parliament have? The European Parliament is a co-legislative body in the EU, together with the Council (Member States). Both must agree on the directives for them to be approved. It has been gaining powers and already participates in almost all legislative proposals, except in matters such as tax or foreign relations. Other legislative powers that it has are to approve international agreements or EU enlargements.
The European Parliament does not have the right of legislative initiative, which is retained exclusively by the Commission
Like national parliaments, MEPs also have a supervisory role by monitoring all EU institutions. For example, he sends questions to the Commission, and has frequent “monetary dialogues” with the president of the European Central Bank. It also participates in electoral observation missions and has a petitions commission, in which it receives complaints from citizens and even conducts investigations on some matters.
An important difference compared to national parliaments is that the European Parliament does not have the right of legislative initiative, which is retained exclusively by the Commission. However, you can ask the Commission to submit a proposal.
It also has budgetary powers, by agreeing with the Member States and the Commission on the annual budget, and giving its consent to the multiannual financial framework, the next one for the period 2021-2027.
Composition of the European Parliament: Currently, the 751 MEPs are divided into eight political groups, the EPP being the largest (217 seats). It should be remembered that once Brexit materializes, the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, part of the country’s seats will be lost, so the chamber will be reduced to 705 MEPs. Although the members are not grouped by country, on some issues it is possible to observe a majority voting based on their nationality, such as the Spanish defending the contributions for the Common Agrarian Policy.
The formation of some groups, and even their names, will surely change during the next legislature. To form a group you need at least 25 MEPs from seven Member States. It remains to be seen how the irruption of Macron’s project in the chamber will reconfigure the seat map, if his alliance with the European liberals will finally materialize, or what other national parties he will be able to attract to form a new group, if he decides so.
The big question will be whether the eurosceptics will manage to form a solid group
But, above all, the big question will be whether the eurosceptics will manage to form a solid group, given the divergences they have shown in the past over national agendas or relations with Russia.
This time is different, why? Representatives of the European Parliament, community sources, analysts, the media, companies and a varied mosaic of groups such as the Portuguese Association of Professional Soccer Players repeat that these elections are different compared to those held every five years since 1979, when Europeans elected by the first time to its MEPs. “This time I vote” is the institutional message to improve participation, which is constantly falling and which in 2014 stood at 42.6%. To try to improve it, the European Parliament has produced an announcement that has become a complete success:
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The main reason why these elections are crucial is because of the good results that are expected to be recorded by the populist, national-sovereignty and eurosceptic forces that want to torpedo the community project. This magma of formations aspires to occupy a third of the Eurochamber, although the projections do not leave them so well placed. However, the League, the party of the Italian Matteo Salvni, is only surpassed by the German CDU.
Although there are no transnational lists as such, these elections will also be the first in which a party will present itself in several countries, with the same acronyms and a single program. This is the new Volt formation, pro-European and nurtured above all by the Erasmus generation. It is presented in eight Member States, including Spain.
Spanish candidates for the European Parliament: among those who head the lists are the current Foreign Minister, Josep Borrell (PSOE), the former Minister of Health, Dolors Montserrat (PP), Luis Garicano (Ciudadanos), who is also vice president of the European Liberals and María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (Podemos). Oriol Junqueras leads from prison the “Ahora Repúblicas” coalition of which ERC, Bildu and BNG are a part. While Carles Puigdemont is the number one of “Lliures per Europa”, the JxCat brand for the European ones. In the case of Vox, his man is Jorge Buxadé, a candidate with a Falangist past.
Electoral program for European elections: in general, Spanish parties stand out for their pro-European spirit. However, there are differences in politics and accent. In the case of the two main parties, the PSOE focuses on community proposals, while the PP does so on more national issues.
The list led by Montserrat is committed to fighting for our country to house the new community organizations that are being considered in the EU, such as the European Cybersecurity Agency – León is proposed as the headquarters -. She also wants to strengthen the interests of the State in the face of global challenges and promote a greater presence of Spain in the European institutions.
In addition, the ‘popular’ do not forget Gibraltar. They will keep up the pressure so that it does not abandon its character as an English ‘colony’, and Spain’s right of veto over Gibraltar is maintained in the future. The PP also has Puigdemont and his escape from Spanish justice well in mind. For this reason, he proposes the reform of the Eurowarrant so that the crimes of sedition and rebellion are recognized for automatic extradition, and so that their execution procedure is more agile.
The Socialists are committed to an openly Europeanist social agenda, putting Spain as an example of integration into the EU. They propose completing the economic and monetary union, or advancing in the harmonization of the fiscal framework, which currently prevents the existence of a true common market.
The PSOE wants to culminate the banking union with the creation of the European Deposit Insurance System, “that provides protection for the savings of citizens at the European level.” These steps would help progress in the Capital Markets Union, whose progress would facilitate the granting of credit to companies at lower interest rates, especially SMEs.
In addition, the list led by Borrell also proposes a minimum salary for all partners, adapted to national socioeconomic conditions, as well as complementary employment insurance included in all contracts and of the same type as that of the United States, as explained by the still Foreign Minister in a recent intervention. .
Another claim of the Socialists is to give the European Parliament more powers, so that it has a greater control capacity
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