MEP Max Orville updates on letter to Swedish presidency of Council of EU

Europe: Member of the European Parliament (MEP) – Max Orville shared an update regarding the letter sent to the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

MEP from Martinique shared an update by Renew Europe and highlighted that they call on the EU Council to make significant progress in deepening the European democracy.

He re-shared the letter posted by Renew Europe, which read, “We call for concrete and swift progress on the texts relating to the “Democracy Package” in order to meet the expectations of our citizens for a deeper European democracy. The General Affairs Council, which is meeting this week, must address these challenges and show ambition.”

“On 9 May last, we were celebrating the building of Europe, praising what it represents for our continent, cherishing the democratic values anchored in the DNA of the European Union. For Renew Europe, these are no empty words. Almost exactly one year before the European elections, the time for speeches must give way to the time for action. Our citizens, who were very clear at the Conference on the Future of Europe, expect us to take steps to deepen and improve European democracy,” the letter added.

It further claimed that for too long, the Council had disregarded the demands of the European Parliament, whether it be the Convention on the revision of the European treaties or the electoral law establishing transnational lists. In the current context, which shows us how precious and fragile democracy is, it is of paramount importance for the Union to strengthen the resilience of European democracy and of its institutions.

Renew Europe, therefore, calls on the Council to make ambitious progress on the following:

• The establishment of a Union-wick constituency composed of 28 Members of the European Parliament, elected through transnational lists;
• The improvement of gender equality in European elections through zipped lists of quotas;
• Updating the rules on the state and finding European political parties and foundations;
• The establishment of harmonised rules on the transparency of political advertisements in order to allow European citizens to know who is behind them and to make election campaigns more transparent;
• The adoption of a decision on the launch of a Convention for the revision of the Treaties, which shall bold on the upcoming proposal of the European Parliament and on the recommendations of the Conference in the Future of Europe.
• The activation of passerelle clauses in key policy areas such as Foreign and Security Policy, environmental and energy policy, ahead of the entry into force of treaty revisions.