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Election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage

TA-9-2022-0129 · P9_TA(2022)0129 · PE693.622

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Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's legislative resolution of 3 May 2022 proposes a Council Regulation on electing Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, replacing the 1976 Electoral Act. It sets common minimum standards: a Union-wide constituency of 28 Members elected from transnational lists, a second vote for each voter, and a harmonised voting age of 16. It creates a European Electoral Authority, a European electoral roll, a common election day of 9 May, and rules on thresholds, gender equality, postal voting and accessibility. It also proposes Treaty reform to allow the office of Commissioner and MEP to be held together and to move electoral-law decisions to qualified majority in the Council.

Key points

  1. Parliament suggests reforming its electoral procedure with common minimum standards and legislative changes ahead of the 2024 European elections.
  2. It proposes turning the elections into a single European election through a Union-wide constituency, instead of 27 separate national elections.
  3. European political parties, associations of voters and other European electoral entities should play a more central role and receive adequate support and funding.
  4. It calls for common minimum democratic standards on voting and candidacy rights, ballot access, gender equality, accessibility and election-day rules.
  5. It calls for gender equality through zipped lists or quotas, and for exemptions from national electoral thresholds for recognised national and linguistic minorities.
  6. Lead candidates should be able to stand in all Member States on Union-wide lists, be nominated at least 12 weeks before election day, and head those lists.
  7. The proposed regulation creates a Union-wide constituency electing 28 Members, with lists divided into sections of three slots covering three groups of Member States.
  8. Each voter would have two votes, one in a national constituency and one in the Union-wide constituency; the Union-wide seats are allocated by the D'Hondt system.
  9. National thresholds may not exceed 5% of valid votes, and must be at least 3.5% in constituencies with more than 60 seats; there is no threshold for the Union-wide constituency.
  10. Member States must provide postal voting and may allow advance physical, proxy, electronic and internet voting, with safeguards for reliability, secrecy and data protection.
  11. A European Electoral Authority would manage the Union-wide constituency, the European electoral roll and disputes, and proclaim the results.
  12. Elections would be held on 9 May, campaigning would start no earlier than eight weeks before, and a 48-hour electoral reserve period would apply.

Who is affected

  • Union citizens: right to vote from age 16 and to stand from 18, with two votes and access to postal and other voting methods.
  • Persons with disabilities: equal access to materials, polling stations and assistance, and voting rights regardless of legal capacity.
  • European political parties, associations of voters and electoral entities: may table one Union-wide list and receive campaign funding.
  • Member States: must set up contact authorities, national electoral rolls and voting arrangements, and notify the Council of completed procedures.
  • National and linguistic minorities: exempted from national electoral thresholds and may have single-member constituencies.

Figures and deadlines

  • 28 Members of the European Parliament to be elected from the Union-wide constituency at the first election after entry into force.
  • National electoral roll deadline: no later than fourteen weeks before Election day.
  • Deadline for tabling candidate lists: twelve weeks before Election day.
  • Lead candidates for Commission President to be nominated at least 12 weeks before election day.
  • National electoral thresholds: not exceeding 5% of valid votes, and at least 3.5% in constituencies with more than 60 seats.
  • Minimum voting age set at 16; minimum age to stand as a candidate set at 18.
  • Election day: 9 May of the last year of a parliamentary term; results announced at 21:00 hours CET.
  • Electoral reserve period: 48 hours before Election day; temporary replacement for maternity, paternity, parental leave or severe illness: sixteen weeks, renewable.

Legal basis: Article 223(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.