Recruiting MEPs in difficult times: Legal constraints and soft-law approaches for further electoral reform

Despite a net increase in voter turnout and a majority of pro-European party groups in the Parliament after the 2019 elections, the European electoral system remains fragile. Further Europeanisation of the EP elections remains an important requirement of electoral reform. The latest revision of the Electoral Act, adopted in July 2018 and to enter into force soon, provides little progress as concerns binding legislation but includes interesting aspects of nudging Member States towards Europeanizing the next elections. Based on an empirical investigation of the national electoral systems governing the 2019 European elections, in particular rules for the allocation of seats and for safeguarding proportionality at various stages of this allocation, the paper examines whether this latest reform step promises a significant transformation of the European elections in time for 2024. It examines options for better reflecting Europe-wide political trends, such as the use of a revised proportionality system, and for rebalancing the role of national and European political party families in electoral campaigns. The analysis will distinguish between reform requiring changes in primary law and soft-law approaches addressing the principal actors of electoral competition.