There will be elections in Europe in just over 130 days. Hundreds of millions of EU citizens will then be able to cast their votes. But what impact does the election actually have?
At the weekend, the SPD, FDP and the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) will choose their top candidates for the European elections. But what exactly will be voted on in the summer and what influence does the European Parliament have? An overview:
When will the European elections take place?
Votes can be cast from June 6th to 9th. The Dutch will be the first to go to the polls on Thursday, June 6th. According to parliamentary information, Ireland follows, followed a day later by Latvia, Malta and Slovakia.
In the rest of the EU, like in Germany, elections will take place on Sunday, June 9th. The different dates are intended to ensure that the different electoral traditions can be maintained.
Who vote?
For the first time in Germany, minors are allowed to take part in European elections. The voting age was reduced from 18 to 16 years. Citizens of other EU countries who live in Germany and are old enough are also eligible to vote.
Germany is one of the few countries where minors are allowed to vote. According to information from the EU Parliament in August, this is otherwise only possible in Austria, Belgium, Malta and Greece. The voting age in Greece is 17.
Germans who do not live in Germany and want to take part in the election must submit a formal application for entry in the voters’ register before each election. According to the Federal Returning Officer, there are different procedures depending on which country you live in.
Who will be elected?
720 representatives are elected. In terms of the sheer number, there are fewer politicians than in the last election, when 751 people’s representatives entered parliament. When Great Britain left the EU, numerous MPs also lost their mandate. Compared to the current number of MPs, 15 more places are being allocated than four and a half years ago.
As the most populous country in the EU, Germany also has the most representatives. However, Germans are still underrepresented in parliament. While on average a German MP represents around 875,000 people, a MP from Malta only represents just under 100,000.
If this inequality did not exist, the parliament would either have to become significantly larger or the citizens of the smallest EU countries would only be represented by one MP.
How is voting done?
This differs from EU country to EU country, sometimes from party to party. In Germany, most parties draw up nationwide lists, the order of which is determined at a party conference.
The more votes a party gets, the more people from that list move in. In the case of the CDU/CSU, lists are not adopted nationwide, but at the state level. Some of this list has not yet been completed; in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, the CDU wants to decide on its list on February 3rd in Dortmund.
It is uniform across the EU that the number of representatives of a party must be proportional to the number of votes received. There are no cross-country lists.
What are the implications of the election?
Which majorities can be organized in parliament has a decisive influence on new EU laws. Many current projects, such as the phase-out of combustion engines or controversial nature conservation and climate laws, had to be approved by a majority in parliament. Parliament also has a major influence on the distribution of money, such as the billions in EU agricultural funding.
However, most laws are negotiated together with the EU states and must also find a majority in the so-called Council. Representatives of the respective national governments decide there. The European elections have no direct influence on the majority in this institution.
However, the composition of the EU Commission after the election can influence Parliament. The authority has the sole right to propose specific EU legal acts, which are then negotiated by Parliament and the EU states.
Although it is initially the task of the heads of state and government of the EU states to make a proposal for the president, Parliament can reject this. As a rule, a candidate from the ranks of the largest parliamentary group is also proposed.
The Council and the President-elect will then draw up a list of the remaining commissioners, one from each EU state. Parliament must also approve the appointment of the remaining commissioners.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
