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> MEPs are elected really as proxy popularity polls on the home parties. And they undergo very little scrutiny of their actions at home. This is painfully true

> MEPs are elected really as proxy popularity polls on the home parties. And they undergo very little scrutiny of their actions at home. This is painfully true, and the biggest hurdle IMO to solving the perceived "democratic deficit" of the EU. MEPs should be banned from using domestic party branding on their material, and have to canvas themselves based on the bloc they plan to align to in the EU, and what that stands for. Only then do you have a hope of people educating themselves on which EU parties/blocs align with their own ideologies. At the moment, standing based on domestic parties in an EU parliament election has about as much relevance as someone in a general election saying "Vote Jones, member of the local football club", but leaving off their party affiliation.

beojan 9y ago
> MEPs should be banned from using domestic party branding on their material, and have to canvas themselves based on the bloc they plan to align to in the EU, and what that stands for. MEPs align themselves with the bloc their party is aligned with. Perhaps it would be better if political parties had to include the branding of the European Parliament political group they're aligned with on all campaign materials (I'd go so far as to say this should also apply to national and local elections, if EU citizens can vote in them).
avar 9y ago
MEP seats are allocated per-country, voting based on domestic policies is the entire point of the EP. The council & commission (in particular the latter) are then supposed to balance it out with unified national & cross-national representation, respectively.
- another-dave 9y ago
  > MEP seats are allocated per-country, voting based on domestic policies is the entire point of the EP. I disagree, that's like saying — MPs are allocated per constituency, voting based on local policies is the entire point of an MP. It's definitely a factor, but how many people voted in the last UK election based on having "a good constituency MP" rather than the party positions? I think an MP's main job is to make legislation for the country as a whole — yes, she should inform her opinion through the lens of her constituency and her constituent's opinions, as well as her own, but she shouldn't only vote for things that affect or benefit them directly. So similarly, I'd want my MEP to make good European acts of parliament for the EU as a whole. Telling me they are a 'Labour', 'Lib Dem' or 'Tory' affiliated gives me a hint as to their ideological background, but it's no match for something like the voting blocs issuing their own manifestos for how they'd like the EU to progress and develop. I think if people want the European Parliament to become more accountable, you have to start engaging with policies (and politicians) at a supra-national level.
  - avar 9y ago
    The UK has an entirely different governmental structure than the EU, so comparing why someone votes for an MEP v.s. UK MP makes no sense. Of course MEPs are going to need to consider the EU as a whole, because in order to advance the goals of their constituencies they need to cooperate with the MEPs representing everyone else (and other EU institutions). But expecting that you can ban MEPs from being a product of national politics or national political branding would be folly and undemocratic. That's what the EP is for, it's there to represent voting blocks within the nation-states that make up the EU, MEPs are explicitly not voted for across national boundaries. Targeting MEPs to solve a perceived "democratic deficit" in the EU seems bizarre. They're the only directly elected institution, and they're the most locally accountable EU representatives or institution. It seems to me what you'd like to accomplish here would be better solved by making the 28 members of the Commission directly elected across national boundaries by the entirety of EU citizens.

beojan 9y ago

> MEPs should be banned from using domestic party branding on their material, and have to canvas themselves based on the bloc they plan to align to in the EU, and what that stands for. MEPs align themselves with the bloc their party is aligned with. Perhaps it would be better if political parties had to include the branding of the European Parliament political group they're aligned with on all campaign materials (I'd go so far as to say this should also apply to national and local elections, if EU citizens can vote in them).

avar 9y ago

MEP seats are allocated per-country, voting based on domestic policies is the entire point of the EP. The council & commission (in particular the latter) are then supposed to balance it out with unified national & cross-national representation, respectively.

another-dave 9y ago
> MEP seats are allocated per-country, voting based on domestic policies is the entire point of the EP. I disagree, that's like saying — MPs are allocated per constituency, voting based on local policies is the entire point of an MP. It's definitely a factor, but how many people voted in the last UK election based on having "a good constituency MP" rather than the party positions? I think an MP's main job is to make legislation for the country as a whole — yes, she should inform her opinion through the lens of her constituency and her constituent's opinions, as well as her own, but she shouldn't only vote for things that affect or benefit them directly. So similarly, I'd want my MEP to make good European acts of parliament for the EU as a whole. Telling me they are a 'Labour', 'Lib Dem' or 'Tory' affiliated gives me a hint as to their ideological background, but it's no match for something like the voting blocs issuing their own manifestos for how they'd like the EU to progress and develop. I think if people want the European Parliament to become more accountable, you have to start engaging with policies (and politicians) at a supra-national level.
- avar 9y ago
  The UK has an entirely different governmental structure than the EU, so comparing why someone votes for an MEP v.s. UK MP makes no sense. Of course MEPs are going to need to consider the EU as a whole, because in order to advance the goals of their constituencies they need to cooperate with the MEPs representing everyone else (and other EU institutions). But expecting that you can ban MEPs from being a product of national politics or national political branding would be folly and undemocratic. That's what the EP is for, it's there to represent voting blocks within the nation-states that make up the EU, MEPs are explicitly not voted for across national boundaries. Targeting MEPs to solve a perceived "democratic deficit" in the EU seems bizarre. They're the only directly elected institution, and they're the most locally accountable EU representatives or institution. It seems to me what you'd like to accomplish here would be better solved by making the 28 members of the Commission directly elected across national boundaries by the entirety of EU citizens.