EP wil opkomst Europese verkiezingen vergroten door scherpere profilering (en)

Elections for the European Parliament are set to become truly European under recommendations adopted by the EP's constitutional affairs committee on Tuesday 28 May. They include political parties naming their candidates six weeks before polling day and making clear who they support to become the next president of the European Commission. Ballot papers should also clearly state to which European parties national parties belong to.

European political parties

The constitutional affairs has made several suggestions for improving European elections. For example, ballot papers should show the name and the logo of the European political group national parties belong to. So far no EU country has done this yet. Candidates for the EP's 751 seats should be named at least six weeks before the elections, while parties should encourage equal representation and field more female candidates.

Making informed choices

European political parties should name their candidate for Commission president well in advance of the election, while national political parties should tell voters who they support for this post and explain the political programme.

Andrew Duff i, a British member of the ALDE group who drafted the recommendations, commented: "The 2014 election campaign will be more interesting, more European and more political than previous elections."

2014 elections

During the May plenary session the EP voted in favour of holding next year's elections from 22 to 25 May. The formal decision will be taken by the governments in the Council.