Changes from plenary report to adopted text

AD. whereas an electoral authority, acting as an independent body and ensuring the correct implementation of the European electoral law should be set up at Union level as a network of Member States' single contact authorities, as this would facilitate access to information on the rules governing the European elections, as well as streamlining the process, managing in particular the Union-wide constituency and enhancing the European character of those elections;

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ChangedAE. whereas postal voting could enable more voters to participate and make the conduct of European elections more efficient and more appealing for voters, whilst ensuring the highest possible standards of data protection and maintaining vote at polling stations as the norm; whereas Member States may provide complementary voting tools to enhaceenhance participation such as proxy voting, electronic or internet voting, in accordance with their national traditions; whereas many national bodies for the protection of digital freedoms have expressed reservations about online voting; whereas online voting presents increased difficulties with regard to the fundamental principles governing electoral operations (the secrecy of the ballot, the personal and free nature of the vote, the sincerity of electoral operations, effective monitoring of the vote and a posteriori control by the election judge) ; whereas thesethose difficulties can be overcome by a common regulatory framework and procedure in which the highest standards of data protection, election integrity, transparency, reliability, secrecy of the vote are guaranteed;

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ChangedAF. whereas Article 7(1) of the Act concerning the election of Membersmembers of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage of 20 September 1976 establishes that “the office of member of the European Parliament shall be incompatible with that of member of the Commission”;

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Changed1. Suggests the reform of its electoral procedure with the goal of shapingshaping, in a concrete wayway, a European public sphere, by suggesting common minimum standards and legislative changes ahead of the 2024 European elections;

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Changed2. Considers it essential to improve the transparency and democratic accountability of the Parliament, by strengthening the European dimension of the elections, notably by transforming the European elections into a single European election, especially withthrough the establishment of a Union-wide constituency, as opposed to the collection of 27 separate national elections, which is the way that European elections are organised today;

3. Believes that European political parties, associations of voters and other European electoral entities should play a more central role in the European elections process, should become clearly visible for voters, and should be given adequate support and funding allowing them to fulfil their role;

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Changed4. Reminds that diverging electoral cultures have resulted in a range of different electoral systems and different voting rights across the Union; considers that common minimum democratic standards in the European electoral law can promote a genuine public European debate and ensure equality of the Union citizens, including as regards: the right to vote, the right to register a party, an association of voters or other electoral entities and to stand for elections; access to ballots; the fielding of candidates, including gender equality; accessibility of voting for all citizens, especially for persons with disabilities; or what happens on the day of the elections;

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Changed5. Calls for the establishment of a common framework, with benchmarks and minimum standards for election rules across the EU,Union, and suggests focusing on a strong coordination with national measures for implementing the core of its proposals;

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Changed6. Calls on the European Union institutions to take into account the priorities identified by Union citizens in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe;

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Changed7. Notes the role of the Commission as facilitator in the institutional talks between the European Parliament and the Council on the reform of the European Electoralelectoral Law;law; considers it essential to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Commission inter alia in order to evaluate and take inspiration from the results of the European Cooperation Network on Elections, as established in 2019;

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Changed8. Highlights the links between the suggested measures for the review of the Electoral Act, and the European Parliament’Parliament’s rulesRules of procedure, theProcedure, regulationRegulation on(EU, EuropeanEuratom) PoliticalNo Parties1141/2014 and the European Commission Democracy Action Plan of December 2020, notably on elements such as:

- the way in which elections are governed, namely by rules applicable only within a particular jurisdiction or that might not have been formulated taking into consideration the borderless online space,

- the cooperation between regulatory authorities of the Member States, which needs to be strengthened,

- transparency in political advertising and communication, which should also be reflected in the provisions of the Electoral Law;

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Changed9. Considers gender equality to be a key element for improving representation in elections; welcomes the overall improvement in gender equality in the last elections, but stresses that there are significant differences between Member States, with some not having elected to Parliament a single woman; calls for the introduction of measures that ensure equal opportunities for women and men to be elected without infringing the rights of non-binary people, through the use of zipped lists or quotas.quotas;

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Changed10. Regrets that most national and linguistic minorities are not usually represented in the European Parliament; points out in this regard the effective barrier that electoral thresholds represent for parties representing minority communities running in single national constituencies or in large, densely populated constituencies; considers therefore that the European electoral law should provide for the possibility of exemptions from nationally provided thresholds for entities representing recognizedrecognised national and linguistic minorities;

11. Considers it essential that both European and national political parties and associations of voters and other European electoral entities adopt democratic, informed and transparent procedures for the selection of candidates to the European Parliament, including the lead candidate, ensuring the direct involvement of individual citizens who are party members, including, but not limited to, the election of delegates; considers that such democratic selection should be accompanied by the necessary information as regards the capacities and performance of the aspiring candidates;

12. Believes that all European voters should be allowed to vote for their preferred candidate for the President of the Commission, and that lead candidates should be able to stand in all Member States on Union-wide lists, nominated by a European political party, by a European association of voters or by other European electoral entity, putting forward a common electoral programme;

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Changed13. Calls on European political parties ,parties, European associations of voters and European electoral entities to nominate their candidates for the position of President of the Commission at least 12 weeks before the election day; considers that binding democratic procedures and transparency in the selection should be ensured; expects candidates to be placed in the first position of the corresponding list of the Union-wide constituency;

14. Calls for enhancing the visibility of European political parties, European associations of voters and other European electoral entities through media campaigns and on ballot papers and all electoral materials; determines that national parties and associations of voters should indicate, where applicable, their affiliation to the European political parties, or other European electoral entities and to the corresponding lead candidate during the electoral campaign;

15. Notes that a coordinated media strategy at European level to ensure coverage and monitoring of the European elections would help to increase citizens’ interest in them;

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Changed16. Expects the leaders of the European political parties and parliamentary groups to agree on a common indication to the European Council on the basis of the outcome of the European elections as well as on a majority in the newly elected Parliament as regards the nomination of a candidate for President of the European Commission; 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; 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;

17. Proposes establishing the practice for interested parliamentary groups to conclude a “legislature agreement” in order to ensure a political follow-up to the European elections and as a way to secure a majority within the Parliament ahead of the appointment of the Commission;

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Changed18. Considers that the introduction of a Union-wide constituencyconstituency, from which twenty eighttwenty-eight membersMembers of the European Parliament shallare to be elected,elected without affecting the number of representatives in the European Parliament elected in each Member State,State and in which lists are headed by each political family’s candidate for the post of President of the CommissionCommission, offers an opportunity to enhance the democratic and transnational dimension of the European elections; believes that the goal of establishing a Union-wide constituency is achievable if gender equality is ensured as well as geographical balance, by guaranteeing that smaller Member States are not put at a competitive disadvantage compared to the larger Member States; suggests in this respect introducing binding geographical representation in the lists for the Union-wide constituency, and encourages European political parties, European associations of voters and other European electoral entities to appoint candidates in the Union-wide lists coming from all Member States;

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Changed19. Emphasises that the establishment of a Union-wide constituency fromin which Members are elected on the basis of transnational lists is compatible with the Treaties, and in particular with Article 14(2) TEU; considers that support for a uniform European electoral law with Union-wide lists, and a binding system of lead candidates has been gaining political momentum;

20. Believes that Union-wide lists are a lever that can be used to bring about representativeness and the formation of effective European political parties and associations of voters;

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Changed21. Suggests including common provisions governing expenditure linked to the European electoral campaign for each entity admitted for the purpose of tabling a list of candidates for membersMembers of the European Parliament in the Union-wide constituency; calls for strong coordination with the upcoming revision of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/202141141/2014 on this matter;

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Changed22. Considers that funding of European political parties and other European electoral entities from the general budget of the European Union or from any other source may be used to finance campaigns conducted by the European electoral entities in the context of elections to the European Parliament in the Union-wide constituency in which they or their members participate; considers that funding and limitation of election expenses in the national constituencies, shallare to be governed in each Member State by its national provisions;

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Changed23. Recalls that the minimum age for eligibility to stand as a candidate across the 27 Member States varies between 18 and 25 and the minimum age for eligibility to vote varies between 16 to 18; calls for the introduction of a single, harmonised age for, respectively, passive and active voting rights across Member States and recommends them to introduce thea minimum age of voting rightsage atof 16, without prejudice to existing constitutional orders establishing a minimum voting age of 18 or 17 years of age; is of the opinion that giving the right to vote at the age of 16 would reflect current rights and duties that the European youthyoung people already hashave in some Member States;

24. Proposes to introduce the possibility for temporary replacement of Members on maternity, paternity, parental and long sick leave;

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Changed25. Considers transparency of the electoral process and access to reliable information to be essential elements for raising European political awareness and securing an election turnout that is high enough to constitute a mandate from the electorate; highlights that citizens shallshould be informed well in advance - notably 12 weeks before the elections - about the candidates standing in the European elections and about the affiliation of national political parties or electoral associations to a European political party or European electoral association;

26. Suggests that measures be taken and safeguards be put in place to avoid foreign interference in the electoral process;

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Changed27. Highlights that the deadlines for finalising the electoral roll ahead of European elections vary greatly among Member States; suggests to establishestablishing a European electoral roll and setting a common standard for the establishment and finalisation of the national electoral roll no later than fourteen weeks before the election day, in order to render the information on voters more accurate and to make its exchange between Member States easier, as well as to facilitate the prevention of double voting, ensuring that such double voting, whether the result of an administrative mistake or of breaches of electoral law is subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties at national level, and results in corrective measures by the Member States;

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Changed28. Proposes establishing a European Electoral Authority in charge of coordinating information on the European elections, monitoring the implementation of and resolving disputes on the common standards of the European electoral law, managing the European electoral roll, proclaiming the electoral results, and supervising the exchange of information on voting by citizens of the Union outside their home country; considers that such a body could facilitate an efficient exchange of information, and in particular the sharing of best practices, between national bodies; suggests that an essential task of the AuthorityEuropean wouldElectoral Authority be the management of the register of electoral lists for the Union-wide constituency; calls on the budgetary authoritesauthorities to ensure that the European Electoral Authority will have sufficient resources to fulfil its tasks;

29. Suggests that common minimum standards should be defined to introduce uniform requirements for the establishment of electoral lists;

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Changed30. Considers it essential to facilitate access to voting in European elections and to guarantee that all those who have the right to vote, including citizens of the Union living outside their country of origin, those without a permanent residence, those living in closed residential settings, those experiencing homelessness and prisoners, are able to exercise thisthat right; calls on Member States to ensure access to information and voting on an equal basis for all citizens, including for persons with disabilities by allowing for instance the renting of adapted premises when public structures are not adapted;

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Changed31. Calls on Member States to introduce measures to maximise the accessibility of the elections for citizens with disabilities covering, among others and where appropriate, voting information and registration, polling stations, voting booths and devices and ballot papers; recommends to implement appropriate arrangements tailored to their national voting procedures to facilitate the vote of citizens with disabilities such as the possibility to choose polling station,stations, closed polling stations in key locations, and the use of assistive technologies, formats and techniques like Braille, large print, audio-based information, tactile stencils, easy to read information and sign language communication; calls on Member States to allow persons with disabilities assistanceto be assisted in voting throughby a person of their own choice, where necessary and at their request;

32. Calls on Member States to introduce common requirements allowing all citizens of the Union living or working in a third country to be granted the right to cast their vote in elections to the European Parliament;

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Changed33. Believes that the introduction of postal voting is needed for voters who are unable to go to the polling stations on electionElection day, and that this could make the conduct of European elections more efficient and more appealing for voters in specific or exceptional circumstances; calls on MembersMember States to consider the possible introduction of complementary enhancing tools such as advance physical voting and proxy voting, as well as electronic and online voting, in accordance with their own national traditions, taking into account the Council of Europe's recommendations in those areas and with appropriate safeguards to ensure the reliability, the integrity, the secrecy of the vote, the accessibility for persons with disabilities, transparency in the design and deployment of electronic and internet systems, the possibility for manual or electronic recounts without compromising the secrecy of the vote, and the protection of personal data in accordance with applicable Union law;

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Changed34. Believes that establishing a common European voting day would create a more coherent pan-European election and therefore suggests fixing 9th9 May as the European election dayElection ,day, regardless of the day of the week on which it falls, with the possibility of that day becoming a public holiday; considers it important that the first official projections of the electoral results are announced simultaneously in all Member States on the election day at 21:00 hours CET;

35. Considers it important to ensure that, following each election, an implementation report is drawn up with the aim of evaluating the functioning of the European elections as well as suggesting improvements, if needed;

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Changed36. Suggests thea reform of the Treaties to make compatible the office of a Membermember of the European Commission and the office of Member of the European Parliament compatible in the period between the constitution of the Parliament and the election of the Commission;

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Changed37. Calls for a reform of the TreatiesTreaties, and in particular of Article 223 TFEU on the provisions necessary for the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffragesuffrage, moving from Council’s unanimity and national ratifications to qualified majority decision-making in the Council ;Council;

38. Adopts the annexed proposal and submits it to the Council;

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Changed39. Instructs its President to forward this legislative resolution as well as the annexed proposal to the European Council, the Council, the Commission and the parliaments and governments of the Member States.