Well, this Christmas, EU leaders are said to formally kill off plans for the so-called transnational list and Spitzenkandidaten that would have had a great impact on the 2024 European elections. In brief, Spitzenkandidaten accounts for the candidate process (the procedure whereby European political party groups, ahead of EP/Secondary elections, appoint lead candidates) and the proposed electoral form (in this case it is equivalent to the transnational list).
Earlier this year, on the 3rd of May, the constitutional affairs committee proposed to reform
the European Electoral Act, defining common minimum electoral standards and a Unionwide constituency #MajorReform to EU electoral laws!
Transnational list: the what, the why, the what next?
To avoid all the heavy jargon that politics brings with it, this reform would have seen 28 additional MEPs that would be elected on an EU-wide list, but would not substitute for the Member State MEP list. The parameters of this transnational list would also ensure a balanced geographical representation, equal access to ballots with postal voting and gender-balanced lists, as well as a minimum age to stand for said election.
All this was brought forward in the hopes of building a real European public sphere that
would foster essentially political debates on key issues that we as EU citizens face, as well as
the threats that directly impact the Union.
While to some this might simply be pure idealism, the transnational list was also proposed to contribute to the solidification of a truly and democratic European political system. Essentially, we the voters, would have voted for the National list (our 6 Maltese MEPs) and voted for the European list (the one that is made up of said 28 MEPs).
This 2-ballot list is there to address the plethora of political issues, inefficiencies, and the needs of the people.
For the most part, its not uncommon that people do not give a rat’s arse to secondary elections. Can`t quite blame them completely if they do not understand nor feel as close to the EU as they wish. Why would they when Brussels is so far away in their hearts, since most of what goes on is not communicated that well. Then, you have the problem of secondary elections not given as much care, whereby the parties that start gobbling it up are the ones that instead of wanting to better the Union and the lives of its people, they want to cripple it. Our country, like many other EU states, has been faced with the rise of Euroscepticism, Nativist, and Far-Right tendencies. You see this with each EU election. In our very own
country, the ultra-far right party keeps gathering sizeable support.
Now this proposed reform would have given more validity to European elections, would have ensured that MEPs do not succumb to national bias, held accountable by all, and push for stronger European political families in parliament that would all translate into a more democratic parliament and EU.
Drafted Termination
According to the draft conclusion prepared in advance to the upcoming EU leaders gathering, the Council indicated that there was “no unanimity in favour of the European Parliament`s proposal as it stands”. Most of the delegation seemed to be opposed to the key political innovations. The worry is that this undermines “the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality concerning provisions which go in the direction of establishing a uniform procedure in all member states.
Concluding remarks
As citizens we have the duty to listen to the decisions taken by the ones we elect. It is our
duty to hold them accountable and educate ourselves to things that will inherently affect us,
whether we like it or not.
As students we should not shy away from reading, from understanding and whatnot the
realities of the world around us. To not let ourselves be cut off from those realities as we
submerge ourselves in our studies, as that will only dull us.
The intention of this piece was to bring EU Affairs closer to your attention, while hoping to raise awareness for the much needed activism, active citizenship, and EU reformation, for this Christmas, we are most likely going to see the once brightly lit up Spitzenkandidat Christmas tree, effectively getting the axe.
This article was written by an independent writer whose views are not associated with The Third Eye. The Third Eye strives to be the student’s voice, and that entails giving them a platform to voice their opinions.