In the last European Parliament elections in 2019, there was an improvement in gender balance, with women making up 41 percent of the legislature, up from 37 percent previously.
But members say this should be increased in 2024, not least as there are still “persistent disparities” among Member States.”
A report drafted by Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs said, “Although the last elections improved gender balance in Parliament, substantial room for improvement and divergence between EU countries remain, which could be addressed by introducing ‘zipped’ lists.”
This system imposes a gender quota, mandating political parties to alternate female and male candidates on candidate lists.
In 2015, the EPP rejected zipped lists for EU elections in a parliamentary vote, but campaigners for reform have stepped up their efforts, saying women account for 51 percent of the population.
Currently, 12 countries and territories employ zipped candidate lists for at least one level/house within their legislature: Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Lesotho, Libya, Nicaragua, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.
Another 12 countries require a ranking order such as “one woman in every three candidates” or a standard close to this level. Some countries also use zipper systems to ensure the representation of various minorities.
“Parliament’s strong suggestions in this resolution, like the call for the gender balance rules that we are still lacking, and for transnational lists to transform the European elections into a single European election, need to be taken into serious consideration by the Member States” Pascal Durand, Renew Europe
Five Swedish political parties use it to achieve a gender balance. Its success can be seen in the high level of female parliamentarians returned over elections in the past 15 years.
Electoral reform, say MEPs, is one of the “lessons to be learned” from the 2019 elections and should be on the agenda of the planned Conference on the Future of Europe when it finally gets off the ground.
Minorities - Roma in particular - are still underrepresented and citizens with disabilities are excluded due to a lack of accessible voting centres, the plenary heard. This affected an estimated 800,000 disabled people in 2019.
Members also say that those who are homeless and prisoners face “obstacles” in exercising their right to vote in European elections.
Lowering the minimum voting age to 16, changes to campaigning and funding rules and the establishment of a European Electoral Authority are among the recommendations in a resolution that was adopted by plenary on Thursday with 468 votes to 194 against.
MEPs also say other initiatives, such as transnational lists, would increase the “visibility” of European political parties and movements and transforming the Council into a second EU legislative chamber, should also be considered.
One good outcome of the last election, the plenary was told, was increased turnout, especially among young people, reversing a traditional decline in voter participation in the EU-wide poll.
“There are different positions on transnational lists, some scepticism but also broad support. What is evident is that there is an agreement in the house that the status quo is not sufficient” Gabriele Bischoff, S&D
Turnout in 2019 (50.66 percent) was the highest since 1994 (56.67 percent).
This came after a huge promotional campaign by Parliament, called “This Time I’m Voting” which, it was said, demonstrates that the “negative trend” in turnout in Europe can be reversed.
However, the so-called “Spitzenkandidaten” process last year failed because it was not improved after 2014 and voter awareness was lacking. Under this system the head of whichever political group that wins the election is the lead candidate to become European Commission President.
The new parliamentary resolution insists that all voters should be allowed to vote for their preferred candidate for Commission President.
Interference by foreign and internal actors is a “matter of concern” and the resolution also calls for a ban on campaign funding from foreign bodies, scrutiny of social media platforms’ algorithms and education and awareness-raising efforts.
Parliament’s rapporteur on the issue, French Renew Europe member Pascal Durand, said, “Parliament’s strong suggestions in this resolution, like the call for the gender balance rules that we are still lacking, and for transnational lists to transform the European elections into a single European election, need to be taken into serious consideration by the Member States.”
Durand added, “We expect that they will be focal points for the Conference on the Future of Europe too. It is high time that we tackle existing challenges and prepare for future ones by abandoning outdated attitudes and embracing the European dimension of our politics.”
German Socialist Gabriele Bischoff, vice-chair of the constitutional affairs committee, said, “We already knew that there is broad support for the lead candidate principle in Parliament, but we have differing opinions on how to implement it.”
“There are different positions on transnational lists, some scepticism but also broad support. What is evident is that there is an agreement in the house that the status quo is not sufficient.”
Professor Benjamin Reilly, of the Sir Walter Murdoch School of Public Policy in Australia, said an important requirement is to ensure that candidate list rules are enforced, for example by enforcing sanctions for those that do not comply.
He said, “Comparative experience suggests that the goal of enhancing women’s political participation has been achieved quite effectively through the use of a zipper system.”
Plenary heard that a 2018 electoral law reform that aimed to beef up the “European dimension” of the elections has not yet been ratified by all Member States.