Euractiv — Making European elections truly European

On 24 September, the European Parliament’s committee for constitutional affairs held a hearing on transnational lists and the Spitzenkandidaten system.

Ahead of this hearing, Alberto Alemanno, Giorgio Clarotti, Olivier Costa and Christophe Leclercq argued, in a column published by EURACTIV, that transnational lists “would make it possible to run truly European campaigns”.

Unfortunately, and while transnational lists would not make elections less European, they would not remedy their core deficiency: that national parties control electoral programmes. They are, therefore, not the reform we need to make this election truly European, engage citizens, and bring MEPs closer to their concerns.

Instead of a mere band-aid, let us engage on a bold reform — with local electoral districts and proportional vote on European party member state lists — and make this election truly European.

Read more in my new tribune on Euractiv:

https://www.euractiv.com/section/future-eu/opinion/making-european-elections-truly-european/

Image Credit: Julien Warnand/EPA-EFE