How to strengthen European political parties?

 Vision Think Tank 2023*

These are the most important elections of 2024. They will take place exactly one year from now and have the potential to significantly change the European position on crucial issues, from the environment to immigration rules, and impact everyone’s lives. However, the European Parliament elections are likely to be held with minimal presence of European parties competing for victory, risking once again being a collection of 27 futile national competitions. One of the few leaders who has recognized the importance and contradictions of the upcoming European Parliament elections is Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister. She staunchly opposes the ancient idea of transforming the European Union into a federation of states and leads the European political group expected to experience the most growth. This fact can be the starting point for a new discourse on European democracy.

The European political parties are granted a fundamental role by the Treaty governing the functioning of the European Union (Article 10): they "contribute to forming political awareness at a continental level and express the will of European citizens." A European political party is distinct from those that play a similar role within each country. It must shape public opinions and propose ideas that transcend national borders. Corresponding to these parties are the groups within the Parliament, with the largest one being the "People's Party" led by Weber. They receive strict public funding of approximately 45 million euros per year. Each party is supported by a foundation that acts as a think tank, that is supposed to provide ideas and theories.

However, the "political awareness" that European political parties are expected to foster is still very weak. A survey conducted by the London School of Economics just before the last European elections in 2019 indicated that less than half of German citizens were aware that they had to elect the European Parliament. It is a paradox: European political parties are weak both in terms of power and consensus.

In terms of power, nearly all major policies – from environmental regulations to immigration rules, from bank supervision to attempts to govern artificial intelligence – are decided at the community level. Moreover, it is evident that Europe has the minimum scale required to make an impact in the face of certain global phenomena. However, even in terms of consensus, it would benefit national parties to be more substantively integrated among themselves to avoid creating a sense of powerlessness among voters. This sense of powerlessness often pushes many, especially the younger generation, away from an increasingly sterile national discourse. Ideas are lacking, and they need to be found on an international level, as major mass political movements were born in the 19th century. Among the five major European political parties (Popular, Socialist, Liberal, Conservative, and Green), there are indeed possibilities for agreement on major issues, such as Ukraine and overcoming the unanimity mechanism. However, reaching consensus among 27 countries becomes impossible.

These paradoxes harm the relationship between citizens and institutions. To address these challenges, the Conference on the Future of Europe will take place in Siena from June 8th to 10th, with the participation of think tanks from all five major European political parties. It is an opportunity, exactly one year from the European elections, to reflect on common rules. There are three hypotheses that will be developed: Firstly, electoral law. Previous attempts to provide a certain number of Members of the European Parliament from a top-down transnational list have repeatedly failed. An alternative proposal is to allow voters the freedom to participate in European electoral constituencies, where they can potentially choose candidates different from those in their own country. Moreover, this approach would reward European political parties based on the territorial diversity of their representation in Parliament. In addition to public funding, there could be a substantial opportunity to seek private funding while maintaining total transparency and imposing limits on donations from a single organization or third country. It is unclear why the possibility for individual voters to directly join a European political party has not yet been considered. Such a provision would be particularly encouraging for the younger generation.

Furthermore, the relationship with national political parties should be considered. Public funding could enhance the visibility of European party programs on ballot papers and on the websites of national groups. This should already be in the interest of political parties, as they need to find proposals and individuals capable of participating in games played at a level that extends beyond individual European capitals.

The European context has influenced – more than any other factor – the history of European parties in the last 30 years. It is a constraint or resource that cannot be ignored. To alter seemingly predetermined outcomes, it is imperative to organize political representation that transcends the national level, firmly establishing that "creating European political awareness" does not equate to unconditionally defending a status quo that is no longer suited to the challenges of a rapidly evolving century.

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*  The paper is an elaboration of a column published on Il Messaggero. The author of the paper are Francesco Grillo and Giorgia Caianiello from Vision Think Tank.