Historical overview of the electoral reform in the EU

Abstract

The recast of the Electoral Act passed in 2018 offers a good opportunity to make a historical account on the ambition to the European Parliament to achieve a true European electoral law, indeed an essential element for its role as democratic institution in the European Union. We will see that even though a uniform electoral law constitutes an objective in the Treaties from the beginning of European integration, progress in such matters has been complicated and contingent upon a favourable political context which has seldom taken place. Although the European Parliament has managed to be at the centre of the Union’s political life, its efforts to achieve a better electoral system have led to many disappointments and scarce progress. This is particularly exemplified by the second reform of the electoral Act, just passed in 2018. Indeed, it is a very small recast leaving aside the most revolutionary proposals that were under discussion.