It might be difficult to discern but, as well as the much-publicised UK poll on 4 July, there is another rather significant election taking place very soon. The European elections this coming weekend may be keenly awaited by some but (as with the British version) it is also seen by others with a degree of trepidation and even fear. They include Dick Roche, a former Europe Minister in Ireland who is particularly pessimistic, not just about the upcoming EU poll and predictions of an influx of many new MEPs from ‘extreme’ political parties but for the whole European project itself.
This, it is worth recalling, is from a man once described by Nigel Farage as the “most Europhile” man he (Farage) knew. Therefore, when someone like Roche speaks with such concern about the EU it is worth sitting up and taking real note.
In an interview he spoke about how the parliament has evolved and its ability to face up to a multitude of challenges after the elections.
Changes to parliament since Lisbon
Roche said that since 1979 and the first direct elections, parliament has “dramatically changed from being a talking shop to a fully functioning and democratic assembly”. But he gives a rather withering assessment of the outgoing parliament, saying there is “good reason to be concerned at how this parliament has exercised its powers particularly as a control agency over the Commission”.
It was, he notes, thanks to the Irish Referendum of 2 October 2009 that the Lisbon Treaty was ratified. Lisbon was significant as it extended parliament’s powers to 40 new areas, including agriculture, energy, immigration and justice, and came into effect in December 2009. The Lisbon and Maastricht treaties have, he says, enhanced the role of the parliament both as a legislative body and as the body charged with exercising control over the operations of the EU Commission.
But he highlights two ongoing “problems”, including the composition of parliamentary committees which he believes is not representative of the whole parliament, and the “decline” of parliamentary questions (PQs). As the composition of an individual committee may not be representative of the full parliament, the decisions that come out of a committee will, he says, “not always reflect the range of opinions and concerns that exist”.
Roche said, “When the plenary meets it just tends to rubberstamp legislation and there is little chance of real debate, even less chance of incorporating MEPs’ concerns, wishes and aspirations of the millions of EU citizens who vote for them”.
Relinquishing open debate by limiting PQs
Roche, now aged 77, takes particular issue with the assembly’s “curious approach” to PQs. “While other parliaments robustly defend their PQ systems that is not the case with the EU parliament”, he states. “Over the last decade there has been an active attempt to suppress the PQ system in the EU parliament.” In addition to undermining the very raison d’être of the parliament, truncating the level of open debate “limits the chance of capturing public attention for the work in which the parliament is engaged in”.
He says that “perhaps unsurprisingly” there has been a marked decline in the use of PQs during the current parliament’s mandate. The number of PQs dealt with in the parliament peaked at just under 15,500 in 2015 but, in 2023, only 3,703 questions were answered. “This opaque nature of the parliament feeds into cynicism and suspicion about the parliament”, believes Roche, who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 2002 to 2004 and 2007 to 2011.
Evisceration of the European Parliament
Turning to the upcoming poll this weekend, he believes that, 15 years after Lisbon came into effect, the dynamic between the parliament and Commission has not been rebalanced: “If anything, the opposite is the case”, he says.
The “process of bureaucratization” within the parliament has, he believes, “continued apace” as has the “evisceration” of the parliament’s capacity to call the Commission to account. He warns, “A neutered parliament comes with a significant cost”.
The Irishman notes that all seven EU parliament elections between 1984 and 2014 saw a decline in voter turnout. When the first EU parliament elections were held in 1979 the turnout was 63% but turnout dropped in each of the following seven elections bottoming out at under 43% in 2014. In 2019 that rose to almost 51%. “While significant, the 2019 increase in turnout still meant that over 49 per cent of voters did not cast their vote”, he says.
Parliament has tried to address such issues by pumping over €30 million into a high profile promotional/communications campaign aimed at boosting voter interest and at least matching the 2019 figure. In the last few days it announced that major European clubs, including German champions Bayer Leverkusen, Europa League winners Atalanta, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and SSC Napoli will use their club platforms to encourage citizens to vote.
The Internationaux de Strasbourg Women’s Tennis Association tournament (18–25 May) displayed a #UseYourVote campaign banner at the host venue, as well as hosting an information stand, and Italian Paralympic triathlon bronze medallist Veronika Yoko sported a #UseYourVote campaign scarf during Milan Fashion Week.
In one EU Member State – Belgium – 16 and 17-year-olds will get the chance to vote for the first time in these elections, the hope being that this too might help increase interest (particularly among the young) and participation in the EU wide poll.
Room for optimism over voter turnout?
“Europe”, says Roche, “faces a series of challenges” over the next five years, the mandate of the incoming parliament. “If the EU is to preach democracy it should be seen to practise it. A strong and vibrant European Parliament representing the diversity that is Europe will be an important message for European citizens and for the wider world.”
Senior MEP Terry Reintke, European Green Lead Candidate for the European Commission presidency, goes even further, saying the elections are more than a contest for political power: “They are a battle for the soul of Europe. It is imperative that voters reject those who seek to dismantle Europe from within.”
One perennial problem for the parliament is overcoming voter apathy. A spring 2023 Eurobarometer poll recorded voters’ interest in EU elections as limited. Only half of those polled believed that voting in EU parliament elections mattered while two thirds believed that voting in national elections mattered.
But a spring 2024 Eurobarometer provided more optimistic figures: 71% of voters across Europe saying that they are likely to vote in this month’s elections. Roche says that anything approaching that number turnout will be a “truly remarkable” turnaround.
We will know in a week’s time.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
