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An electoral threshold for the allocation of seats is the minimum percentage of votes that a political party or a coalition is required to collect in order to gain a seat in the legislative assembly. Thresholds are said to enable a better balance between governability and representativeness, by favouring the formation of stable majorities and avoiding excessive fragmentation of the legislative assembly. Thresholds are sometimes imposed by law, but in the absence of an explicit legal requirement, ...

In the context of on-going discussions to strengthen the European Parliament's integrity, independence and accountability, this is one in a set of publications in which the European Parliamentary Research Service will analyse relevant international and European standards relating to parliamentary ethics, as well as the rules and practices put in place in selected EU Member States to promote the principles of transparency, accountability and integrity within their national parliaments. Various international ...

The European Parliament has been trying to strengthen its powers to conduct in-depth investigations into contraventions or maladministration in the implementation of European Union law since 2012, but has so far failed to gain the consent of the Commission or the Council for the modification of the legal framework applicable to its committees of inquiry. These powers were also discussed as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe. This paper updates a 2021 EPRS publication on the European Parliament's ...

2023 World Press Freedom Day

Sracfhéachaint 28-04-2023

In 1993, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared 3 May World Press Freedom Day, acting on a recommendation adopted by UNESCO's General Conference in 1991. This year will mark the 30th anniversary of the day, with UNESCO and other international partners organising special events around the world.

Political advertising is central to informing and influencing how people vote, and may affect citizens' perceptions of the legitimacy of their own political system, particularly when published in the run-up to elections. Rules governing political advertising are therefore key to guaranteeing citizens' fundamental rights and the integrity of democratic processes. Rules governing political propaganda during electoral periods are naturally therefore a focal point of electoral law. Traditional rules ...

Regulating political advertising

Sracfhéachaint 30-01-2023

During the February I plenary session, Parliament is expected to vote the report on the proposal to adopt a regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. Put forward by the Commission as part of the November 2021 legislative package to reinforce democracy and ensure the integrity of elections, the report was adopted by the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on 24 January 2023.

There is a broad consensus about the deterioration of democracy and human rights across the world due, among other things, to growing authoritarianism, the coronavirus pandemic, deepening economic inequalities, new trends in artificial intelligence, and increasingly severe conflicts. This deterioration has taken place amidst rising impunity, i.e. the impossibility of bringing the perpetrators of violations to account. Tackling impunity globally is therefore an urgent task, as highlighted in several ...

In May 2022, the European Parliament adopted a draft legislative act proposing to repeal the 1976 European Electoral Act and replace it with a new Council regulation on the election of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) by direct universal suffrage. The aim is to harmonise a number of rules applicable to European elections, which are currently a combination between the common principles under the European Electoral Act and the different national rules implementing them. Harmonisation would ...

During the September 2022 plenary session, Parliament is expected to debate and vote the report concerning the Commission proposal to recast the Regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations. The report was adopted by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) on 13 July 2022 – with 18 votes for, 4 against and 2 abstentions – and includes 36 amendments to the original proposal.

Proposing new rules for European elections

Sracfhéachaint 27-04-2022

The rules that apply to European elections are not uniform throughout the Union. Member States apply different national electoral rules, although all need to comply with the common principles established in the 1976 European Electoral Act. During the May I plenary session, Parliament is expected to vote on a legislative initiative proposing to repeal the European Electoral Act with a new Council regulation further harmonising the rules applicable to European elections, including through the creation ...