Another step on the journey towards a truly European political space, but there is further work to do - this is the verdict from the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament following the political agreement reached today on new rules governing European political parties and foundations.
This afternoon, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union struck a deal on an updated ‘Regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations’, proposed by the European Commission in 2021.
If given the final green light by the European Parliament plenary and the Council of the European Union, the newly negotiated rules could bring more legal certainty in key areas allowing European political parties and foundations to work more effectively. However, despite progress in some areas, not all issues raised by the S&D Group were addressed in the negotiations. More work will be needed to further improve the rules, especially for political foundations. The S&Ds are pleased that under the new rules, the EU institutions have committed to work imminently on these improvements.
S&D shadow rapporteur on the regulations, Gaby Bischoff, said:
“In these difficult times, it is more important than ever to build a truly European political space. Political parties and foundations play a crucial democratic role in this, as they are working at the European level, day-after-day, focused on the needs and hopes of people.
“For too long, legal uncertainty has existed in the regulation of European political parties and foundations and this has stunted the growth of European politics. These new rules help to address some of the difficulties, especially around issues like indirect funding and the role of political parties that are outside the European Union which have a clear link with Europe.
“But we are also clear that this agreement is not as ambitious as we had hoped for. European political parties will not have a role in national referenda on European issues, for example. It is disappointing that the Council solely focussed on putting in place safeguards to limit the activities and governance of political parties and foundations.
“We are committed and will keep working to ensure that European political parties and foundations are strengthened, to make our Union stronger, and the lives of our citizens better. Strong democracy relies on strong European political parties and foundations.”
Key changes under the new rules include clarifying how European parties and foundations can engage with their members without contravening rules on ‘indirect funding’. For European political parties and foundations, a new membership category has also been created - ‘associated members or organisations’ - to make clear the role played by political parties and organisations based in - among others - former EU member states and EU candidate countries. At the same time, the definition of a ‘European political foundation’ has been amended to specifically underline the possibility for the organisation of capacity building activities that could support the emergence of future political leadership in Europe.
The new rules also update how European parties are funded and governed. This includes introducing stronger gender equality obligations for European political parties. Specifically, the governing bodies of European political parties and foundations will need to be gender-balanced, adopt a gender equality plan, and publish information online about the gender balance of its members of the European Parliament and candidates for European Parliament elections.
