Articles for tag: Europäisches Parlament, Europawahlen, preliminary reference

Protecting the Fairness of European Parliament Elections via Preliminary Ruling

Supreme or constitutional courts regularly step in to protect the democratic process by deciding election disputes. It is remarkable that the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has so far barely been engaged concerning the European Parliament (EP) elections. Using Hungary as an example, I will argue in the following that the CJEU is institutionally well-positioned to help protect the integrity of the 2024 EP elections via preliminary ruling procedures. Hungarian democracy has been in decline, according to the EP, the Commission and various democracy indices. The problems include the lack of a level playing field, targeted action by authorities against opposition parties, overlaps between the activities of the government and the governing party, state funding of campaigning and party financing in general, lack of media pluralism, and the different means of voting for citizens living abroad (postal vote for some and not for others). I argue that the CJEU could and should be engaged to protect the fairness of the EP elections in Hungary.

7. Dezember 2023

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At a Snail’s Pace

By 1 April 2018, member states had to transpose an EU Directive on ‘the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings’. Bulgaria has not fully transposed it to this day, and consistently undermines it. Now, finally, the Commission has launched infringement proceecings. Preceding the announcement, the Commission rejected Rasosveta Vassileva's reasoned complaints on the same issue, as late as 2022. Her odyssey is a concerning tale on how EU institutions handle citizen alerts.

18. Oktober 2023

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The Price of Transatlantic Friendship

While the citizens of most EU Member States enjoy visa-free travel to the US, citizens of Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus do not. Following the Commission’s repeated refusal to activate the reciprocity mechanism in EU visa law to remedy this inequality in access to visa-free travel, the European Parliament asked the CJEU whether the Commission was under an obligation to do so. The Court answered in the negative, holding instead that the Commission had wide discretion in this regard. Its reasoning centers the sensitive political nature that visa retaliation vis-á-vis the US implies, while failing to instill a sense of urgency in working towards equal treatment of EU citizens. This threatens to perpetuate a situation in which the advantages of supranational integration in the context of the Schengen acquis are permanently withheld from nationals of Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus.

12. September 2023

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Changing Tides in European Election Law

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On 15 June, the Bundestag approved a minimum percentage threshold for elections to the European Parliament (EP). Shortly before the summer break, the Bundesrat (Federal Council) also agreed to the clause. German lawmakers already failed twice in this endeavour before the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, short BVerfG). This time, the German legislator can refer to a binding EU legal act backing its reform efforts. This means the electoral threshold must now be treated (also by the constitutional court) as determined by EU law – with all consequences. However, even a 2% hurdle is not 100% safe from the BVerfG.

18. Juli 2023

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Vorzeichenwechsel im Europawahlrecht

Der Bundestag hat am 15. Juni einer Sperrklausel für die Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament zugestimmt. Kurz vor der Sommerpause schloss sich auch der Bundesrat an. Der deutsche Gesetzgeber unternimmt auf ein Neues, womit er schon zweimal vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht gescheitert ist. Dieses Mal hat der deutsche Gesetzgeber bei der Einführung der Sperrklausel einen verbindlichen EU-Rechtsakt im Rücken. Damit geht allerdings einher, dass die Sperrklausel nun (auch verfassungsgerichtlich) mit allen Konsequenzen als determiniertes Unionsrecht behandelt werden muss. Doch auch eine 2 %-Hürde ist nicht zu 100% sicher vor dem BVerfG.

14. Juli 2023

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Short Detention, Long Shadow

Several videos show the arrest of Clara Ponsatí last Tuesday in the streets of Barcelona, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Separatist politicians have forcefully condemned the arrest as an ‘attack on democracy’, ‘political violence’, ‘repression’ and ‘abuse of power’, while also asserting an egregious violation of an MEP’s immunity. This piece argues that the arrest warrant issued by the Tribunal Supremo on 28 March 2023 does not hold up against established constitutional principles.

7. April 2023

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Qatargate: A Missed Opportunity to Reform the Union

When the news broke about the arrest of EU Parliament’s Vice-President Eva Kaili in flagrant offence for corruption and money laundering, many observers instantly qualified Qatargate as the largest and the most damaging scandal affecting the European integration process since its inception. Since then, this prediction proves truer day by day, revelation after revelation. Yet, despite unprecedented media coverage and a shocked public, this scandal has not yet generated within the EU and national political class a good enough response to mitigate its damaging effects. EU leaders can hardly afford to miss this unique opportunity to prepare a convincing answer to the question many citizens will soon be asking: Why vote in the next EU Parliament’s election in 2024?

2. Februar 2023

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Das Postfaktische über Korruption in der Europäischen Union

Auch wenn es dem Europäischen Parlament in den letzten Jahren gelungen ist, eine Mehrheit zu finden, um die Mitgliedstaaten Ungarn, Polen, Rumänien, die Slowakei, Bulgarien und Malta wegen Korruption zu schelten, ist es weitaus schwieriger, seine eigenen Mitglieder zu kontrollieren. Das Europäische Parlament ist der absolute Herrscher über seine eigene Integrität. Wenn es seine Möglichkeiten einschränken will, indem es volle Transparenz bei Sitzungen, Zugang, Ausgaben und Reisen bietet, kann es das tun - gute Vorschläge liegen schon seit Jahren vor.

12. Januar 2023

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Qatargate: The tip of the iceberg?

It is strange that the European Union, which is so insistent that Member States and third countries should comply with the rule of law, does not yet have a binding global framework for implementing the principles of transparency and good administration. Unfortunately, thirteen years after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, legislative transparency is far from being ensured and Article 298 TFEU on good administration has only been triggered this year for the first time.

10. Januar 2023

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