Parliament seek to further improve the Commission’s proposal, aiming to protect European values and democratic processes more effectively. MEPs adopt their position for the ensuing negotiations with Council and Commission, in order to pass the law in the first half of 2023, so that it will be in place before the next European elections in 2024. Parliament is set to expand the new rules relating toto like-minded parties outside the EU’s 27 member states, to ensure that thesemember parties come from countries that are full members of the Council of Europe and outside the EU “observe equivalent values” to those of Article 2 TEU, and to adopt a more ambitious approach regarding EU funding for campaigns in national referenda. Opening statements by Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE) and Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), rapporteurs, and by Vera JOUROVA, European Commissioner for Values and Transparency.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

JOUROVÁ, Věra (EC)

funding of European political parties (T)

WIELAND, Rainer (EPP, DE)

GOERENS, Charles (Renew, LU)

Statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations: opening statements by Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteurs and by Vera JOUROVA, European Commissioner for Values and Transparency

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Dear Madam President, vice-President of the Commission, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. Today, we are dealing with a report regarding the funding of European political parties and how to better do that. Now, this is one of the building blocks that helps contribute to European democracy.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Rapporteur, This overall landscape makes a big difference in terms of European public opinion. We want to have strong European political families so we can really help explain to the public what is happening here in Europe. And this is very important in terms of the European elections and the trust of our voters.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Rapporteur, The legislation before us, I think is an important step. It's not the be all and end all, though it is one further step and there'll be further steps that will have to be taken. What the Commission has put forward here is along the same lines as what Parliament wanted to see. Parliament has added to some of its own thoughts here as well.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Rapporteur, And let me say, Madam Commissioner, we were a little surprised that the Commission went for a recast. There was some discussion between Parliament and Commission. I think the Parliament is somewhat restricted in its ability to address things because the Commission has kept its hand on the tiller here. So. That I think perhaps it wasn't done in the best way that the Commission chose the option of a recast, and it's not really what we had previously agreed.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Rapporteur, Now, there are a lot of technical details here. Most of them are not disputed. A lot of you have already set out in the report. We want to close loopholes here. We want to increase sanctions or penalties here and to simplify procedures. There are some points that will prove to be tricky. I think.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Rapporteur, We will hear from Mr. Goerens, briefly. He'll be talking about the mandate we're asking for to work with Council here. I don't think you have to be a fortune teller to know that this is not going to be simple. The European political parties or political parties in general want to be able to take part in political advertising in if we have an election in Lower Saxony, for example, where I come from.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Rapporteur, The political leaders will come to this region and they will campaign for that party. And we're being told that it's a taboo to mix this European and national politics in this way. So we'll have to see what kind of agreement we can come to here. The EPP as a party it has a key point here. We have seen the co-financing rate go from 10% to 5%. This is part of a package. But we have some real concerns. And I spoke about this in the negotiations.

SOUNDBITE (German), Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE), Rapporteur, When you are in an election year. It is really quite difficult and we would actually like to see this rate reduced to 0%. But as I said, that's a concern we have and we will reflect that in voting. Thank you very much for the Corporation on negotiations.

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, Dear colleagues, Madam Commissioner. It's fair to say that we're all members of a political party. Those of us that are here today with you want to represent your constituency or your country or in here in Strasbourg. Then you'll be elected on the basis of a political programme, a political programme from a given country. And it's thanks to political parties that we are able to discharge the tasks without which pluralist democracy would be unthinkable.

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, And we want more democracy at the European level, which means that you have European demos, so to speak. Those who suggest that that's not the case. Should consider something said by one of my colleagues. I quote "Whether I'm in Paris, in Rome, in Warsaw or elsewhere in Europe, the people in meat dress the same sort of way. They share the same aspirations or make the same music they have. So something common, something shared, is developing under our eyes". End of quotation.

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, This kind of thing became apparent at the conference on the future of Europe as well. It's obvious that political parties are essential in a country that's simultaneously full of opportunities and of threats. And politics is something that enables us to try to meet citizens aspirations with regard to climate change, democracy and progress. And this none of this can be achieved without currents of thought, schools of thought that need to be able to express themselves freely. And this kind of thing is facilitated by parties.

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, Now, we want to avoid external sources of finance by increasing financing from the EU. There's only one limit, which is the limit where opinions become crimes. That's why we think that these changes put forward are essential. We've got common values. We are proud of them, but we don't have any monopoly on anything. And the founding members of Europe shared these values, too.

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, And that's why we want to make it possible for parties that are active within the framework of the Council of Europe to become associated with our European political parties and representatives from them, with our counterparts from the EU, within the Consultative Assembly of Europe. That's why they sit together in the Council of Europe. So why shouldn't they be allowed to be associated with EU political parties?

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, Political life is marked by competition amongst political parties. The party that competition needs to be fair with clear rules. A level playing field. That's why a private authority, a special authority is there to ensure that this remains the case, that we have a level playing field.

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, Dear colleagues, I want to thank everybody who's contributed to this work, to my assistants. And also Rainer Wieland as co-rapporteur, and his assistants, who've always been there to seek a compromise, to seek an agreement.

SOUNDBITE (French), Charles GOERENS (Renew, LU), Rapporteur, Our votes today won't be the end of this exercise, that there'll be a complicated negotiations with Council beginning as of next week. If you give us the relevant mandate, if you wish us to tackle this from on the basis of a strong position, I'm sure that you will vote en masse in favour of this text. I commend it to you. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Věra JOUROVÁ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, Madam President. Honourable members. Co-rapporteurs. It is my pleasure to continue our discussion on this important file. In the current geopolitical context, it is our collective duty to reaffirm our commitment to the democratic values and to preserve an open democratic debate. European political parties and the foundations linked to them fulfil an essential role in representative European democracy.

SOUNDBITE (English), Věra JOUROVÁ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, As we already heard in in both the contributions of Mr. Valent and Mr. Goerens, they create a direct link between the citizens and the political system. Today, European political parties and foundations, however, face a number of operational difficulties. The proposal we have put forward intends to strike a fine balance between, on the one hand, giving more possibilities to European political parties and foundations to fulfil their role in building and nourishing European political space.

SOUNDBITE (English), Věra JOUROVÁ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, And on the other hand, making sure that their action is free from undue interferences and that they use the European funding in the best possible way. The Commission welcomes the Parliament's report and its support to the main and most innovative elements of the Commission's legislative proposal. The Commission also notes the level of ambition demonstrated by the additional amendments tabled.

SOUNDBITE (English), Věra JOUROVÁ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, The Commission will carefully assess the proposals made by Parliament, for example, on membership definition, on a new category of association fees, on the possibility for European political parties to finance national referendums, campaigns, or on the threshold of the due diligence mechanism, as well as on the verification mechanism for compliance.

SOUNDBITE (English), Věra JOUROVÁ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, The aim of the Commission is to improve the quality and the adequacy of the current legal framework in order to facilitate the best outcome possible for EU citizens and EU democracy. Let me react on the question or comment of Mr. Wieland on why we chose the recast technique for this proposal. I would like to recall that the recast is a legal technique used to replace an earlier act which was previously amended in order to consolidate and simplify the text.

SOUNDBITE (English), Věra JOUROVÁ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, This is precisely the case with the latest revision of regulation one one for one from 2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations. Following the two previous revisions from 2018 and 2019, and given the necessity to update language, obsolete references and provisions, it was necessary to recast the regulation.

SOUNDBITE (English), Věra JOUROVÁ, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, We stand ready to restart institutional negotiations as soon as possible in view of having the new regulation adopted and in force in good time ahead of the next elections to the European Parliament in May 2024, which has always been our mutually shared objective. And I myself am very committed to participate at the political dialogues. As always, the Commission will play the role of an honest broker in the next steps of the legislative process. Thank you very much.