A4-0342/96

Resolution on the constitutional status of European political parties

The European Parliament,

- having regard to Article 138a of the EC Treaty,

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Institutional Affairs (A4- 0342/96),

A. whereas the expression of political will at the level of the Union increasingly concerns issues vital to European society and its citizens directly; whereas it is therefore necessary to strengthen the instruments for democratic participation by citizens in the determination of Union policy,

B. whereas without a functioning party system, a strong and robust democracy in which the citizen participates actively is inconceivable; whereas this also applies at European Union level; whereas with the prospect of enlargement, European political parties provide a unique opportunity for the integration of political culture,

C. whereas without European political parties organized and acting on a transnational basis, there can be no question of a genuine European citizenship which monitors, discusses and influences political decision- making at European level,

D. whereas the involvement of European political parties in the expression of political will at European level complements the expression of political will in the sphere of European policy by the parties active at the level of the Member States of the Union; whereas, with regard to the powers and responsibilities of the European Parliament, the field of endeavour of the European political parties is additional to that of the political groups established in the European Parliament,

E. whereas only through initiative and the will to reform within party life itself will a pluralistic variety of active European political parties emerge; whereas political impulses and a suitable framework established by the European Union would decisively encourage the development of such democratic initiative; whereas this framework must be made very wide so that the European political parties may develop in a process of historical change,

F. whereas it should be possible in future for European political parties to be financed by contributions from Community resources; whereas current practices constitute a transitional solution; whereas Community legislation authorizing these contributions and creating legal certainty should be passed as soon as possible,

1. Expressly endorses the proposals submitted by the governments to the Intergovernmental Conference with a view to strengthening the constitutional status of European citizenship, and, in particular, to strengthen the constitutional duties of the European political parties referred to in Article 138a of the EC Treaty, with a view to the passing of the Community acts referred to below;

2. Calls on the European Union - regardless of the outcome of the Intergovernmental Conference - to pass the following legal acts:

(a) a framework regulation on the legal status of European political parties,

(b) a regulation on the financial status of European political parties;

believes that, although these acts may be based on Article 138a taken in conjunction with Article 235 of the EC Treaty, important reasons of transparency, legal clarity and credibility vis-à-vis citizens militate in favour of the proposals submitted to the Intergovernmental Conference, and approves the following initial guidelines for the contents of these acts;

3. Considers that, if it is to claim the rights that the status of a European political party entails, a political association must at the same time meet the following requirements:

(a) voice an opinion on, in particular, aspects of European policy and international policy and be represented in the European Parliament or aim to be represented there, or be involved in the process of expressing political will at European level in some other, comparable way,

(b) be organized in a way that is likely to reflect the political will of citizens of the Union,

(c) be more, in terms of goals and organization, than a mere electioneering organization or an organization that merely supports a political group and parliamentary work,

(d) be represented in at least one-third of the Member States and be active at transnational level;

4. Considers that it must be possible for European political parties to be open to individual membership;

5. Considers that European political parties must fulfil at least the following obligations:

(a) have statutes and a basic political programme, to which the European public has access,

(b) respect, in their programme and practical activities, the fundamental constitutional principles enshrined in the Union Treaty of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law,

(c) so word their statutes that the expression of their political will accords with democratic principles and all citizens of the Union who with to do so are able to express their political will in this process;

6. Sees a need for the clarification of certain rights of European political parties vis-a-vis the institutions of the European Union and the Member States, in particular:

(a) the right freely to establish a political party,

(b) general political freedom to take action,

(c) the right to equal treatment,

(d) the right to present candidates for election,

(e) the possibility, in order to safeguard their institutional ability to act, of acquiring legal personality in all the Member States and adopting the legal form that is to be established for that purpose;

7. Recalls that the Union is to provide itself with the means necessary to attain its objectives and carry through its policies (see Article F(3) of the Treaty on European Union); considers it essential for the contributions made to European political parties from Community funds

(a) to be based on an explicit authorization granted by a Community legal act passed specifically for this purpose and to be clearly shown as such in the Union budget; the first appropriate step would be the inclusion of a token entry in the budget,

(b) to be distributed in accordance with the principle of equality of opportunity, with newly established parties given a genuine chance and with account being taken of the number of Member States in which the parties are represented,

(c) to be tied to the fulfilment of the mission at European Union level resulting from Article 138a of the EC Treaty,

(d) to be linked to the requirement that the recipients disclose their financial circumstances; such mandatory disclosure also applies to all other revenue (e.g. members' contributions, donations),

(e) to give the recipients a financial incentive to strengthen their roots in society and seek greater financial autonomy, while establishing a balance between financing by the Union and the parties' own resources;

8. Calls on the European political parties, without excluding the possibility of recourse to the European Court of Justice, to use extra-judicial arbitration and conciliation procedures to settle possible differences of opinion on the implementation of European party law;

9. Calls on the Commission to consider in a Green Paper further action to clarify the constitutional mission defined in Article 138a of the EC Treaty, taking account of these guidelines, and reserves the right to review the available options in the light of further developments;

10. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the governments of the Member States, the Intergovernmental Conference, the Council and the Commission.