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EUROPEAN UNION

EXPLAINED: What’s at stake in Germany’s European election vote

Any EU citizen living in Germany can vote in European elections, taking place around Europe from June 6th to June 9th, when Germany goes to the polls in those elections. So why should EU citizens living here take notice, register, and cast a ballot?

Published: 20 March 2024 15:08 CET
EXPLAINED: What's at stake in Germany's European election vote
A view of the seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, in December 2023. Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

Why does the European Parliament matter? What powers does it have?

Plenty of hot button issues – like national defence and healthcare – are still largely decided by national parliaments. That’s likely to remain so, but the European Parliament has power to act in a few key areas.  

It scrutinises all laws the EU’s executive – or the European Commission – proposes and it can also request legislation. Plenty of recent high-profile EU laws have come at its insistence. These include the end of roaming charges in the EU and GDPR, which now sets data privacy standards around the globe.

Besides regulations on tech and artificial intelligence, expect MEPs to be debating a lot of legislation around consumer protection, food safety, certain action on climate change and transition like the European Green Deal, trade deals, as well as Europe’s support for Ukraine and whether it will eventually be a member of the EU.

European election results will also have some influence over whether Ursula von der Leyen – the first German to be European Commission President since the 1960s – gets another term.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The 2024 European elections will influence whether she gets another term in the EU’s top job. Photo: AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias

READ ALSO: Who is Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, the surprise candidate to take the EU’s top job?

How are the elections expected to go?

Polls show the centre-right Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union have a sizeable lead for the European elections in Germany. Also, although the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has climbed to over 20 percent at points in national polls, it’s numbers for European elections are trending somewhat lower.

The same cannot be said for the populist right elsewhere in Europe, where polls everywhere from Austria to Sweden to France and the Netherlands show right-wing parties having the potential to make some big gains over their 2019 results.

At the same time, more centrist European political parties on the centre-left and centre-right are still likely to be able to keep a majority in the European Parliament according to the latest polls.

‘Wake-up call’: Far-right parties set to make huge gains in 2024 EU elections

So do MEPs represent their country in the European Parliament?

Technically, they’re not supposed to. MEPs are mandated to act in what they see as the interest of wider Europe – even if that conflicts with the interests of their own country. MEPs are still chosen in election contests that are run nationally though.

Every five years since 1979, voters around the European Union vote for 705 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Brussels and Strasbourg. Each country gets a number of MEPs roughly proportional to its population. With Germany being the EU’s most populous country, it gets the most, with 96 seats.  

However, MEPs don’t sit in the European Parliament based on country as they aren’t supposed to act in purely national interests – but looking at what they see as the interest of all of Europe. They sit in the European Parliament based on party group. So a Green from Germany and a Green from France will sit together. That German Green also won’t be sitting with the German Christian Democrats – who themselves will sit on the other side of the chamber with parties like Ireland’s Fine Gael – a fellow centre-right party.

European parliamentarians say they do that to encourage you to vote in a European way – considering the issues you think will impact all of Europe – rather than treat the European elections as a referendum on your own national government – which studies show often happens.

Elections to borders: 7 big changes in the EU that will impact you this year

Who gets to vote in Germany?

If you are a citizen of the European Union – so German, but also Irish, French, Italian, etc. – you can vote in the European elections. It’s important to note here that you don’t necessarily vote where you are from but instead vote from wherever you live in the EU. So if you’re an EU citizen living in Germany, you don’t need to be German to vote in the European elections in Germany. A German living in Spain would vote there, just as a Spaniard living here would vote here.

Voting in Germany in European elections is open to EU citizens 16 and older.

Germany is one national constituency and the vote is proportional. There also isn’t the same five percent threshold to get seats for European elections as there is for national elections, so smaller parties can sometimes get a seat.

Ballot papers are placed on desks at a polling station in Nuremberg, southern Germany, during regional elections in Bavaria

Ballot papers are placed on desks at a polling station in Nuremberg, southern Germany. (Photo by Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP)

EU citizens who live and are registered in Germany should have gotten a letter explaining that they have the right to vote. They may, however, have to register – particularly if they haven’t voted in Germany before. EU citizens who voted in the last European elections in 2019 in Germany shouldn’t have to register.

You’ll need to send a letter or bring a signed form in person to your local election office – and you can get that form online from the Bundeswahlleiterin.

That form also needs to be in by Sunday, May 19th – in time for you to be on the list for the elections in Germany on Sunday June 9th. Once you’re registered, you should be able to vote either in person or via postal ballot. You should also then get an information sheet detailing where you can vote or how to do it via postal ballot if you wish.

If you vote in person, make sure to bring you voter information and some identification showing your nationality. Your EU passport may be your safest bet.

READ ALSO: How to register to vote in Germany in the 2024 European elections

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TRAVEL NEWS

EES: Could the launch of Europe’s new border system be delayed again?

After being postponed several times already Europe's new biometric Entry/Exit border system (EES) is set to be rolled out in October, but with fears of lengthy queues, problems with a new app and demands for more time, could it be postponed again?

Published: 26 April 2024 11:50 CEST
EES: Could the launch of Europe's new border system be delayed again?

Could the entry into operation of the EU entry/exit system (EES), the new biometric passport checks for non-EU citizens at the Schengen area’s external borders, be delayed yet again?

Originally planned for May 2022, EES has already been postponed many times.

The current launch date, set for October 2024, was chosen to avoid periods of peak traffic and France in particular had requested to avoid it being launched until after the Paris Olympics this summer.

When asked to confirm the October start date this week a spokesperson for the EU’s Commission told The Local that the “roadmap” for the EES IT system foresees it will be ready for Autumn 2024. But the actual start date, in other words, the day when passengers will have to register, would be confirmed nearer the time.

The spokesperson said: “The exact date will be determined by the European Commission and announced on the EES official website well in time for the start of operations.”

READ ALSO: Your key questions answered about Europe’s new EES passport checks

But the reasons are adding up to suggest an October start date is optimistic, perhaps even unlikely.

In the annual report on the ‘State of Schengen’ published last week, the European Commission spelt out that severe challenges remain if member states are to be ready on time.

“In 2023, efforts to ensure the entry into operation of the Entry-Exit System in the autumn of 2024 were accelerated… While important progress has been made across the Schengen area, some Member States are still falling behind, notably regarding the effective equipment of border crossing points. The Commission calls on all Member States to urgently accelerate preparations to ensure the timely implementation of the system…”

A map in the report shows that preparation is still “in progress” in 13 Schengen area countries, including Germany, Norway and Switzerland. “Outstanding issues” still impact Portugal, Malta and Bulgaria.

The state of play for the preparations for EES across EU and Schengen states. Image: European Commission.

There are also reports that EU heavyweight Germany is trying to persuade Brussels to delay.

Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP claimed on his website that “the German government is lobbying in Brussels to postpone the date once again, as otherwise the German tests of the EES cannot be completed in full. Other EU countries are also behind schedule, with only eight of them having reported successful integration.”

Even on a French government website it talks of EES being rolled out some time “between the end of 2024 and 2025” rather than stating October 2024.

And according to recent media reports, French airports have been advised to be ready for November 6th, rather than October. 

READ ALSO: EES and Etias – what are the big upcoming travel changes in Europe?

A planned EU app, believed to be essential to the smooth operation of EES because it would allow non-EU visitors to register in advance of travel will not be ready, Gwendoline Cazenave, Managing Director of Eurostar International, the company operating train services via the Channel Tunnel, has told the BBC. The EU however insists the app does not need to be up and running before EES is introduced.

In the UK, which will be heavily impacted by EES due to the fact it is no longer in the EU and so British travellers are no longer EU citizens, the House of Commons European scrutiny committee is conducting an inquiry on the potential disruption the introduction of the EES will cause at the border.

Several respondents have recently raised the alarm about the possible delays the system could cause, especially at the UK-France border, which is used by millions of passengers each year who head to France and other countries across Europe.

Ashford Borough Council in Kent has warned of the possibility of more than 14 hours queues to reach the Port of Dover, which has already been struggling increased checked after Brexit.

The BBC reported that back in March, a P&O Ferries director said the IT system should be delayed again.

Airlines have also complained about the fact pre-travel EES requirements would make last minute bookings impossible.

The Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, has simply said more time is needed.

In other words, it would be little surprise if the roll out was delayed again beyond October 2024.

But the Commission spokesperson told The Local that “the timeline for the entry into operation of the EES took into account all the necessary activities to be performed by all relevant stakeholders to ensure a timely entry into operation. 

“The Commission is working very closely with eu-Lisa [the EU agency in charge of the IT system], the Member States and carriers to ensure that everything is ready for the timely and successful launch of the Entry Exit System.

“The roadmap for the delivery of the new IT architecture foresees that the Entry/Exit system will be ready to enter into operation in Autumn 2024.”

New digital border

The EES is a digital system to register travellers from non-EU countries when they cross a border in or out of the Schengen area, the travel-free area. It will be deployed in 29 countries across Europe including 25 EU states plus Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Ireland and Cyprus are the only EU members who won’t apply the EES system.

It doesn’t apply to non-EU nationals who are legally resident in an EU/Schengen area country or those with dual nationality of an EU /Schengen county. The system was designed to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

Instead of having the passport stamped, travellers will have to scan it at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are huge concerns the extra time needed could generate long queues in the UK, where there are juxtaposed border checks with the EU.

Preparations are ongoing throughout Europe and some countries have made good progress.

In France, Getlink, the operator of the Channel Tunnel, has recently reported that new EES infrastructure is finished at its French terminal of Coquelles, which will allow travellers to register their biometric data while travelling.

Eurostar is also installing 49 kiosks in stations for the registration of passengers. But the Union des Aéroports Français (UAF), which represents airports in France, said more time is needed.

Exempted

Meanwhile, the Polish government has urged UK citizens who are beneficiaries of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement to get a residence permit “in the context of EES/ETIAS”, even though there was not such an obligation to stay legally in Poland post-Brexit.

“Having such a document is beneficial as it will exempt from future Entry/Exit System (EES) registration when crossing external borders and from the need to obtain an ETIAS travel permit in relation to short-term travel to EU/Schengen countries,” the government page says.

This article as published in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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