Tonight the European Parliament voted on a report that aimed to make substantial changes to EU electoral law.

German MEP, Helmut Scholz, commented on the outcome of the vote: “I deeply regret that the Parliament has not taken into consideration the real needs of a greater democratic involvement of the citizens in shaping the future of the EU in its vote on electoral law reform tonight.”

“The conservative majority in the Parliament has rejected equal opportunities for women, the right to vote at 16 years of age and the introduction of Europe-wide election candidates in addition to national candidates,” Scholz continued.

“The majority of the Parliament acted as a willing servant to the German coalition government and voted in favor of the reintroduction of a three-percent minimum threshold for the amount of votes a candidate must receive in order to be elected in Germany.

“This result shows how far removed most of the Members of the European Parliament are from the political reality in Europe,” he concluded.

GUE/NGL MEPs voted against the report for multiple reasons, notably on the basis that its proposals would disadvantage candidates from smaller political parties and independents.

GUE/NGL Press Contact:
Nikki Sullings  +32 22 83 27 60
Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20