Historical overview of the electoral reform in the EU
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Jun 27, 2019
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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.
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Keywords:
European Parliament, Electoral Law, Electoral Act, decressive proportionality, transnational list, electoral reform
How to Cite
Alonso de León, S. (2019). Historical overview of the electoral reform in the EU. Journal of the Cortes Generales, (106), 229-267. https://doi.org/10.33426/rcg/2019/106/1408
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References
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Viola, D. (2016). The Genesis of the European Parliament: from appointed Consultative Assembly to directly elected Legislative Body. En Routledge handbook of European elections (pp. 3-16). Oxford: Routledge.
Weiler, J. (1999). The Constitution of Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Álvarez Macías, M. V. (2015). El euroescepticismo en el Parlamento Europeo. Análisis del comportamiento legislativo y político de los diputados euroescépticos de la Cuarta a la Séptima legislaturas (1994-2014).¿Cambio o continuidad en la Octava legislatura (2014-2019). Cuadernos Europeos Deusto, 52, pp. 67-99.
Anastassopoulos, G. (2002). The debate on the system of electing the members of the European parliament: from a uniform procedure to the common principles of treaties. Bruselas: Bruylant.
Beyer-Katzenberger, M. (2009). Judgment of the Bundesverfassungsgericht, Second Senate of 30 June 2009 in joint cases 2 BvE 2/08, 2BvE 5/08, 2 BvR 1010/08, 2BvR 1022/08, 2 BvR 1259/08 and 2 BvR 182/09 (Lisbon Treaty), ERA Forum, 10, pp. 625-641.
Bright, J., Garzia, D., Lacey, J., y Trechsel, A. (2016). Europe’s voting space and the problem of second order elections: A transnational proposal. European Union Politics, 17 (1), pp. 184-198.
Cegiełka, K. (2011). Degressive Proportionality in the European Parliament. Mathematical Economics, 7(14), pp. 31-38.
Corbett, R., Francis Jacobs, F. y Shackleton, M. (2011). The European Parliament. Londres: John Harper.
Cuesta López, V. (2019). La actualización del régimen jurídico de las elecciones al Parlamento Europeo. Revista General de Derecho Europeo, 47, pp. 203-221.
Donnelly, B. y Bigatt o, M. (2008). The Institutions of the Enlarged European Union-Continuity and Change. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Elizalde, J. (1989). El régimen electoral del Parlamento Europeo: ¿quiebra en la primacía del Derecho comunitario. Revista de Instituciones Europeas, 16(3), pp. 809-36.
Emmanouilidis, J. y Straulat, C. (2011). The EP Electoral Reform: Another “Brick” in the Union’s Democratic Construction. En The contribution of 16 European think tanks to the Polish, Danish and Cypriot EU Trio Presidency (pp. 366-73). Bruselas: Notre Europe.
Grimmett , G.R., Laslier, J.-F., Pukelsheim, F., Ramírez González, V., Rose, R., Słomczyn´ski, W., Zachariasen, M. y yczkowski, K. (2011). The Allocation Between the EU Member States of the Seats in the European Parliament – Cambridge Compromise. European Parliament, Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Policy Department C: Citizen’s Rights and Constitutional Affairs, EP 432,760. Recuperado de: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2011/432760/IPOL-AFCO_NT(2011)432760_EN.pdf
Innerarity, D. (2014). Does Europe need a Demos to be truly democratic? LEQS Papers 77/2014, London School of Economics.
Kalcik, R., y Wolff, G.B. (2017). Is Brexit an opportunity to reform the European Parliament? Policy Contribution 2.
Lefkofridi, Z., y Katsanidou, A. (2017). Transnational Party Competition? Transnational Political Groups’ Positions and Ideological Coherence, Documento preparado para el Seminario “Rejected Europe. Beloved Europe. Cleavage Europe” Instituto Universitario Europeo.
Lehmann , W. (2011). Recent advances towards veritable European political parties. Documento presentado en la Conferencia Max Weber Lustrum, Instituto Universitario Europeo.
Mellado Prado, P. (2014). El sistema de representación del Parlamento Europeo cuestionado: la ausencia de un procedimiento electoral uniforme. Teoría y Realidad Constitucional, 33, pp. 219-42.
Moccia, L. (2012). Union’s citizenship as the basis for European democracy. En European citizenship and democracy: the reform of the electoral act and of European political parties (pp. 121-36). Madrid: Marcial Pons.
Müller Gómez, J., y Wessels, W. (2015). The EP Elections 2014 and their consequences. A Further Step towards EU Parliamentarism. Cuadernos Europeos Deusto, 52, pp. 39-66.
Müller, J. W. (2011). The Promise of Demoi-Cracy: Democracy, Diversity, and Domination in the European Public Order. En Political Theory of the European Union (pp. 187-203). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nickel, D. (2016). Wahl– und Kreationsfunktionen des Europäischen Parlaments: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Einsetzung der Kommission. Europarecht, 51 (1), pp. 28-55.
Piodi, F. (2009). Towards direct elections to the European Parliament. Cardoc Journals.
Quintin, Y. (1983). Vers une procédure électorale uniforme : essai d’explication d’un échec. Revue du Marché Commun, 267, pp. 269-72.
Ramírez González, V., Martínez Aroza, J. A., y Palomares Bautista, A. (2018). The composition of the European Parliament in 2019. Real Instituto Elcano, ARI 42/2018.
Reuter, P. (1953). La Communauté européenne du charbon et de l’acier. París: Librairie générale de droit et de jurisprudence.
Ringe, N. (2010). Who decides and how? Preferences, Uncertainty, and Policy Choice in the European Parliament. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Santamaría, J., Reniu, J.M. y Cobos, V. (1995). Los debates sobre el procedimiento electoral uniforme y las características diferenciales de las elecciones europeas. Revista de Estudios Políticos, 90, pp. 11-43.
Steunenb erg, B. y Thomassen, J. (2002). The European Parliament. Moving towards democracy in the EU. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Teasdale, A. (1993). The Life and Death of the Luxembourg Compromise. Journal of Common Market Studies, 31(4), pp. 567-579.
Tulli, U. (2016). Electing the European Parliament: Some Historiographical Notes. The International History Review, 38(1), pp. 214-228.
Tulli U. (2015). A Salutary Shock? The 30-years struggle for the introduction of European Elections. SIS Working Paper, 2. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2548.1043.
Verger, C. (2018). Transnational lists: a political opportunity for Europe with obstacles to overcome, Notre Europe, Policy Paper No. 216. Recuperado de https://institutdelors.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Transnationallists-Verger-Feb18.pdf.
Viola, D. (2016). The Genesis of the European Parliament: from appointed Consultative Assembly to directly elected Legislative Body. En Routledge handbook of European elections (pp. 3-16). Oxford: Routledge.
Weiler, J. (1999). The Constitution of Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.