Would you vote for Beckham?

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. This was my first time in Strasbourg and the European Parliament and the purpose of my visit was to follow a debate about a draft proposal by a British MEP, Andrew Duff, concerning electoral reform. While in Strasbourg I met and discussed this report with Maltese MEPs Simon Busuttil, David Casa and Edward Scicluna. I also had a meeting with two British MEPs including Mr Duff.

Mr Duff’s report is seeking to reform the way MEP elections are conducted. I was looking forward to monitoring the proceedings in the plenary but the debate was postponed due to lack of support within the two largest political groups, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and the European People’s Party. The report was sent back to the Constitutional Affairs Committee where further discussions and improvements to the proposal are expected to be carried out before it finds its way back on the agenda in a few months’ time.

The following are the two most significant reforms that are being proposed:

That an additional 25 MEPs will be elected by a single constituency formed in the whole territory of the European Union; transnational lists will be composed of candidates drawn from at least one-third of the member states and will be gender-balanced.

That a redistribution of the existing 751 seats among the 27 states will take place (if justified objectively by Eurostat figures), based on the total resident population, before every election. The redistribution will be made in accordance with a mathematical formula respecting the criteria laid down in the treaties and will be announced at least 12 months before the end of the mandate.

There are two arguments being voiced against the establishment of transnational lists. Such lists will create two classes of MEPs: the European MEPs voted in by all European citizens and the MEPs elected by the citizens of a particular member state. The current MEPs are reluctant to be relegated to second-class representatives. Furthermore, in order to gain support across the board, parties would have to recruit personalities who appeal to a vast cross section of EU citizens to include on their respective list.

If the proposal materialises, in 2014 we may be voting for the likes of David Beckham, Rafael Nadal, Michael Schumacher or Roberto Baggio. They may all be, or were, excellent sportsmen but one does wonder what celebrities could effectively offer politically within the European Parliament. To the contrary, the election of such celebrities would only undermine the credibility of an institution that has been working hard to acquire more power in the political process of the EU.

The second proposal is probably more complicated. According to this proposal, the distribution of seats among member states will be decided before every election according to the population. This effectively means that a country may have, say, 50 seats in one legislature and 55 in the next or vice versa.

How will these proposals affect Malta?

As for the transnational lists, I doubt whether any Maltese citizen could ever be included in a winnable position on a list. Malta remains a small country and, unless a worldwide celebrity who can appeal to the continent emerges, it is very unlikely that a Maltese citizen will ever win a seat through this channel.

As for the second proposal, when the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all member states, Malta is guaranteed six seats. Incidentally, during my stay in Strasbourg we welcomed the announcement by the Bureau of the European Parliament that the last five countries still to ratify the Lisbon Treaty agreed to do so by autumn. When the ratification is completed, Joseph Cuschieri will take his seat.

Although Mr Duff insisted with me, when I asked him about our country’s situation, that Malta would still be guaranteed six seats there is no mention in the proposal about how this will be secured. Dr Busuttil and Mr Casa were therefore right to raise this issue within the European Peoples Party as was Prof. Scicluna, who raised the matter within the party of European Socialists.

The draft proposal has been sent back to the drawing board. I have now been invited to follow the proceedings within the committee stage. In the coming weeks and months the proposal will probably be overhauled. Up to now, the political groups have made little, if any, contribution to the proposal. If Mr Duff wants his proposal to be implemented, he ought to invite the big parties around the discussion table.

In the meantime, we can all ponder who to vote for if transnational lists appear in 2014. Mr Beckham may be one of the hot favourites.