The European Elections 2024 and the Protection of the EU Fundamental Values, LUISS, Rome, 13 February 2024, h. 10,30

The European Parliament elections of 22-25 May 2014 had already been anticipated, before the vote, as potentially so relevant to become the first “true” European elections. Not only because of the economic crisis – which in recent years has seen the emergence of EU (and international) institutions as key players of economic policy for Euro member states, with relevant effects for the everyday life of citizens – but also due to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which has reinforced the link between the popular vote and the election of the President of the EU Commission. In this context, several commentators had anticipated a potential inadequacy of the consolidated theoretical framework that conceptualizes EP elections as second-order elections. In particular, European issues could be expected to gain a substantial importance in electoral campaigns, with a potential success of Eurosceptic parties due to their ability to politicize – in a negative direction – issues related to Europe and the Euro. A further question is then related to Italy: the third Eurozone economy, on the eve of assuming the Presidency of the EU, and with a government led by a young and energetic Matteo Renzi, but lacking an electoral legitimation. Also, a country that in 2013 saw the largest success of an anti-establishment party ever recorded in Europe. This leads to the main questions behind this book. What were electoral outcomes across Europe? Are we observing the first true first-order European elections? What factors might explain the heterogeneous electoral fortunes of Eurosceptic parties? And how should we interpret the success of the Renzi government in Italy? This book addresses these questions by presenting analyses performed by a large, international research group: for the first time, the CISE has expanded beyond its core group of Italian researchers, by assembling an additional research group of 26 young, brilliant electoral scholars from all across Europe. This allowed us to publish on the CISE website – few days after the elections – concise electoral reports about all 28 EU countries, which are now collected in this book, together with other analyses by the CISE core group. The result is a unique effort, providing – few weeks after the vote – fresh and detailed data, along with first interpretations of electoral results in all EU countries, in order to help practitioners, citizens and scholars develop a first impression – and overall interpretation – of these crucial European elections.

Perspectives on Federalism, 2019

At the end of May 2019, European citizens will be called to elect their representatives to the European Parliament. These elections are both uncertain, as the situation in which they intervene is unique, and crucial because the European Union arguably faces one of the most acute legitimacy crises since the beginning of the European integration process. At the same time however, these elections also mark the 40th anniversary of the direct elections to the European Parliament and a balance of this experience appears to be in order. Against this background, this article proposes both a reflection on the evolution over the past fourty years, and some thoughts as to the way forward. In particular, it critically considers some of the solutions that have been put forward to improve democratic legitimacy within the European Union.

Europe has voted. Between May 22 and 25, 2014 400 million people in 28 member states have been called to vote the 751 MEPs of the 8th European Parliament. This election is important as it is the first since the Treaty of Lisbon, the Parliament now has a number of important new powers. The new political majority will shape European legislation over the next five years and the Parliament - the only directly elected EU institution - is now a linchpin of the European decision-making system. The new FEO follows up on the results of the elections and their various effects on politics in Europe and the wider world.

Jcms Journal of Common Market Studies, 2008

2013

Table of contents: 1. From the financial crisis to the pandemic and beyond. 2. Winners and losers in the new EP: a (Euro-national) parliamentary system 3. The dissolution of the French Parliament: clearly no longer “second order elections”. 4. The institutional game (around the Spitzkenkandidaten constitutional convention) and its interaction with national politics. 5. The need to better synchronize the political electoral cycle

2019

This study aims firstly to demonstrate how the most important Eurosceptic parties and leaders lead their campaign and prepare themselves for the 2019 European Parliament Elections. Secondly, the aim is to analyze what are their primary intentions and strategies, finally to discuss whether they can achieve their goals and realize their projects. To do so, this study is planned under two main points, as the agenda of Eurosceptics is mostly covered: (2) their efforts to form alliances and (3) the main issues expressed in their manifestos. After analyzing their campaigns, this study intends also to discuss the external issues that affect Eurosceptics’ campaigns (4).

Rome, IAI, July 2024, 4 p. (IAI Commentaries ; 24|49), 2024

The changing political environment at national level will inevitably affect the centre of gravity of the EU’s political agenda and the balance of power between its institutions. And all of these will have to be tested against the evolutions of the international environment, starting with the next US elections in November and the development on the battlefield in Ukraine.

The Summer Program on Parliamentary Democracy in Europe is organised by the LUISS School of Government together with the Horizon 2020 Project RECONNECT (https://reconnect-europe.eu/) and in cooperation with LUISS Centre for Parliamentary Studies, SciencesPo - Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics, and the Université Libre de Bruxelles. It was previously co-financed by the European Commission through EACEA (the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency), as a Jean Monnet Module (2012-2015 and 2016-2019). The Summer Program intends to cope with one of the challenges constitutionalism and representative institutions are currently facing in Europe and beyond, namely democratic decay and rule of law backsliding. By bringing together an interdisciplinary group of renown international scholars, in particular in the fields of constitutional and EU law and in political science, as well as professionals, the Summer program will try to untangle the following problematic knots: How and why did phenomena of constitutional retrogression are taking place now? Which actors, at domestic, European and international level contributed, directly or indirectly, to the rise of ‘illiberal democracies’? What are the basic tenets of constitutional democracies and when do they become “democracies disfigured”? and with which legitimacy contribute to the define the arrangements for parliamentary elections? If and how can the rule of law backsliding be remedied and by whom? With this regard, the timing of the Summer Program is tailored to intercept also the debate emerging at European level, following the appointment of the new Commission, with a view to analyse the EU institutional agenda dealing with rule of law problems, and to critically examine the impact of the many national elections taking place in the second half of 2019 and in the first half of 2020 on parliamentary democracy in the broader European context.