Europe-wide lists for EU elections

Even though European elections are held Europe-wide, lists of candidates are still drawn up at national level or even within regions of Member States.

This hinders a truly European debate in the run-up to the elections and results in European elections easily being overshadowed by national politics.

Since 2008, Parliament has been working on a proposal to change this, namely by introducing a European list of 25 candidates, to be drawn up in parallel to the regular national lists.

Initial versions of the proposal necessitated amending European treaties. This made them controversial, especially among the conservative groups in Parliament. Consequently, for several years Parliament's position was referred back and forth between the plenary and the relevant committee.

The Greens believe that European elections deserve a truly European dimension.

European lists would be a good starting point for prompting debates that cross national borders and incorporate the full complexity of European politics.

Given the difficulty of amending treaties, we prefer a solution that is compatible with them and also permits transnational lists.