Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2012)499 - Statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2012)499 - Statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2012)499  |
| date | 12-09-2012 |
The Treaty on European Union states in its Article 10 that 'political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness and to expressing the will of citizens of the Union'. Article 12(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union expresses the same principle.
The right to freedom of association at all levels, for example in political and civic matters, and the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers, are fundamental rights of every citizen of the Union.
It is therefore in the interests of the citizens of the European Union that a European representative democracy can flourish. Truly transnational European political parties and political foundations are key to articulating the voices of the citizens at European level.
European political parties – and their affiliated political foundations – have an important role to play in bridging the gap between national and EU politics, and they fulfil important communicative functions by supporting the interaction between all levels of the Union's multi-tier governance system. Greater and more effective involvement of European political parties and foundations can serve to promote citizens' understanding of the connection between the political processes at the national and European levels and is one way of generating transnational public debates across Europe and encouraging the emergence of a European public sphere.
Furthermore, European political parties should be helped to develop their capacity to express and channel the will of citizens with respect to elected offices and other representative functions at the European level which are crucial for European representative democracy as a whole; they should therefore be encouraged, in the context of elections to the European Parliament, to raise citizens' awareness of the affiliations between them and their national political parties and candidates. This is particularly relevant following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which has consolidated the role of the European Parliament as full co-legislator alongside the Council. It is also an important contribution to increasing citizens' interest and voter turnout in European elections and to reinforcing the democratic legitimacy of the European Union.
Nine years after the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding[1], and five years after its revision in 2007[2], which, inter alia, introduced affiliated political foundations at European level within the scope of the Regulation, the Commission has conducted a comprehensive assessment of the current financing and regulatory framework of European political parties and foundations.
It has done so following the adoption, on the one hand, of a report by the Secretary General of the European Parliament (EP) on party funding at European level[3], and, on the other hand, of the EP's resolution of 6 April 2011 on the application of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 (hereafter referred to as 'the Giannakou report') i.
The Giannakou report, which represents the EP's evaluation report pursuant to Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003[5], covers two main areas by:
· calling on the Commission to propose a statute for European political parties and political foundations, referring also to related issues of internal party democracy; and
· suggesting a number of changes linked to the funding regime applicable to the political parties and their affiliated political foundations, requesting stricter conditions for access to funding, on the one hand, and a more flexible system, on the other.
As part of its assessment of the existing rules governing European-level political parties and political foundations, the Commission has taken due consideration of the conclusions reached by the EP in the Giannakou report. It shares the view that European political parties and foundations have an important role to play to reinforce and foster representative democracy at EU level, and bridge the divide between EU politics and the Union's citizens.
This proposal for a Regulation aims, therefore, to encourage and assist the European political parties and their affiliated political foundations by creating conditions that allow them to grow and pursue their endeavour to reach out to European citizens, to represent and express their views and opinions, and to provide a stronger link between European civil society and the European institutions, in particular the European Parliament.
With regard to political foundations, it offers a specific legal, financial and regulatory framework adapted to their needs. This framework is separate from and different to the rules establishing a European legal form for European Foundations set out in the Commission proposal on the Statute for a European Foundation adopted on 8 February 2012[6].
Contents
In preparing the current proposal, the Commission has been in close dialogue and consultation with relevant stakeholders. It has held several meetings at various levels specifically on this proposal with representatives of the political parties and foundations at European level, the political groups in the EP, national and academic experts, the President of the EP, the EP's Secretary General, and the rapporteur of the EP's evaluation report.
All interested parties have provided important and regular input based on their experience and expertise with regard to the current rules governing the political parties and political foundations under both Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 and the Financial Regulation.[7]
In particular, the European political parties and foundations were able to complement the EP's evaluation report by identifying the concrete difficulties they had faced over recent years and with proposals and recommendations for where improvements could be achieved; while national experts and academics have provided significant insight into rules pertaining to the status and funding of political parties at national level as well as into the likely impact on the Member States of the measures being considered by the Commission.
The proposal is based on Article 224 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which states that 'the European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, shall lay down the regulations governing political parties at European level referred to in Article 10 i of the Treaty on European Union and in particular the rules regarding their funding'.
This provision corresponds, in its essence, to the second subparagraph of Article 191 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on which Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 is based.
The proposal fully complies with the principle of subsidiarity. The EU level is the only one at which rules governing the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations can be laid down. Although the existing Regulation governing the political parties and foundations has proved to be a good platform for both entities to gain a foothold and establish themselves on the European political landscape, a reform of the current regulatory and funding systems is now needed to allow them to fully meet the challenges of today (for example by creating European actors at the European level, or by allowing European political parties to carry over resources from one year to the next) and to adapt to the challenges of the future. In setting out possible reform measures, the Commission has been careful to reflect the principles contained in Declaration No 11 on Article 191 of the Treaty establishing the European Community annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty of Nice.[8]
The proposal does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the long-term objective of developing and strengthening European democracy and the legitimacy of the EU institutions, by seeking to make European political parties and European political foundations more effective and accountable democratic actors. It therefore complies with the principle of proportionality. The proposal aims to create a new European legal form for both types of entities, but they would in most aspects of their practical activities continue to operate on the basis of a legal form recognised in the legal order of the Member State in which they have their seat.
The proposed action would tackle some of the most important obstacles the political parties and political foundations encounter in their day-to-day activities and management when operating in and across Member States, without, however, laying down an exhaustive set of rules applicable to them. For example, the proposal does not include any provisions on labour law or taxation (with the exception of rules related to the non-discrimination of cross-border donors and donations, where there is a clear European-level dimension). Except where explicitly provided for, the European political parties and the European political foundations would continue to be governed by national laws.
The Commission proposes a package of complementary proposals to improve the funding and regulatory frameworks of the political parties and political foundations at European level: one proposal, the present one, intends to replace the current Regulation (EC) No 2003/2004, while a second, parallel proposal seeks to amend the Financial Regulation.
In the present proposal for a Regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations, the Commission is proposing a series of improvements to Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003. Their overarching objective is to increase the visibility, recognition, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of European political parties and foundations.
This proposal introduces a European legal statute. The European statute provides for the possibility to register as a European political party or a European political foundation and thus obtain a legal status based on EU law.
This new European legal personality, which will succeed any pre-existing national legal personality, will provide the European political parties with the recognition they require, and help them to tackle some of the long-standing obstacles they have faced. These include the diversity of national legal forms under which they have until now existed, which are generally ill-suited to the very specific tasks and objectives of European-level political parties, and the lack of public visibility and recognition that stem from this. A uniform legal status based on EU law is therefore crucial, and it will enable them to better accomplish the specific mission attributed to them by the Treaties.
The similar European legal statute for affiliated political foundations represents clear recognition of the crucial role they have in underpinning and complementing the activities of the European political parties, in particular by contributing to debates on European public policy issues and European integration and by bringing together actors from different spheres and different levels from across the European Union.
Obtaining a European legal status will be conditioned on respecting high standards of governance, accountability and transparency. The specific conditions and requirements for obtaining a European legal status include strict respect for the values on which the EU is founded, and, in the case of political parties, satisfying minimum rules on internal party democracy.
Although it will be possible to register statutes as a European political party or as a European political foundation but not apply for EU funding, the opposite is not true. This means that recognition as a European political party or as a European political foundation, and therefore satisfying the conditions and requirements on which this is dependent, would be a pre-condition for eligibility for funding from the EU budget.
It is crucial to ensure that the conditions to become a European political party are not excessive but can be readily met by organised and serious transnational alliances of political parties and/or natural persons, thereby encouraging and supporting also the emergence of new European political parties. On the other hand, it is also necessary to establish objective criteria in order to allocate limited resources from the EU budget, and which should reflect the true European ambition of a European political party as well as genuine electoral support. Such a criterion is best sought in the outcome of elections to the European Parliament, which can provide a precise indication of the electoral recognition of a European political party, and identifies those parties that are in a position to fully participate in the democratic life of the EU and therefore to express the political will of the Union's citizens at the highest level. Therefore, as requested by the European Parliament in its resolution of 6 April 2011, and as recognition of the role the European Parliament has of directly representing the Union's citizens, assigned to it by Article 10(2) of the Treaty on European Union, the Commission is proposing that only those political parties – and, by extension, affiliated political foundations – that are represented in the European Parliament by at least one of their members should be entitled to receive EU funding.
The Commission is moreover proposing important changes to the mode of EU funding for European political parties and European political foundations. The proposed amendment of the Financial Regulation foresees the creation of a separate Title for the European political parties, which would no longer receive operating grants but sui generis contributions. The present proposal, together with the proposed revision of the Financial Regulation, will introduce a degree of necessary flexibility with respect to the working methods and activities of the political parties and political foundations, in particular by, inter alia, raising the pre-financing levels, reducing the co-financing requirements, and allowing the building up of reserves from own resources. In addition, the present proposal raises the level of donations permitted per year and per donor to foster the ability of the political parties and foundations to generate own resources.
In order to counterbalance the increased flexibility, a comprehensive and transparent regulatory and control framework is established, encompassing all aspects linked to the activities and financing of European political parties and their affiliated political foundations, covering all of their financial operations, irrespective of the source of funding. This framework reinforces reporting and transparency obligations, it strengthens the accounting and control mechanisms, and it introduces a new regime of proportionate administrative and financial sanctions for breaches of the conditions of the Regulation, including breaches of the values on which the EU is founded.
The EU funding provided to European political parties and European political foundations will continue to come from the budget of the European Parliament. The present proposal has no significant additional implications for the EU budget.