Thread by @Louis_Drounau

Today, @POLITICOEurope's Playbook reports on two EU political alliances missing out on EU funds "because the paperwork is too complicated". A great opportunity to discuss the funding of #europeanparties! 🥳🇪🇺
A quick 🧵... 1/23
@euleftalliance @APPF_EU @EDC_eudemocracy

First of all, what are we talking about? This is about a special stream of European public funding set aside for #europeanparties and distributed every year. Out of that envelope, 10% is distributed equally to all parties and 90% proportionally to their number of MEPs. 2/23

But, actually, this turns out to be more about registration than funding. In the meantime, if you want to really understand the funding of European parties, hear this way 👇 3/23
epfo.eu/understanding-…

Who are those #europeanparties? They are "political alliances" (alliances of national parties) that meet certain representation criteria & are registered with the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations. 4/23
For more ➡️en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_…

PS: what is the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations, you ask? The APPF (@APPF_EU) is an EU body set up by the European Parliament and Council to register, monitor, control & sanction #europeanparties. 5/23
For more➡️ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authority…

And who are the alliances in question? On the far-right, the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN); on the (far-)left, the European Left Alliance for the People and the Planet (ELA).
⚠️ Major difference: as of right now, the ELA *is* a registered European party, but ESN is not. 6/23

So their situations differ radically. If the ELA successfully submits its request for European public funding by today's deadline (separate from the request for registration), it is entitled to EU public funding. The ESN, as of now, is not entitled to anything. 7/23

@POLITICOEurope quotes an official of one of the political alliances, saying "You have no idea how complicated it is. My feeling is that the burden [of paperwork] is really to discourage you".
But just how complicated is this, though? 🤔 Let's check.
8/23

The APPF provides guidance on its website, including the list of documents that are needed. Additionally, all the documents provided by currently registered #europeanparties can also be found on its website, giving a clear overview of what is required. 9/23

In all fairness: is that super easy, barely an inconvenience? No. Is that really overwhelming complicated? Probably not.
Regulation 1141/2014, providing the framework for #europeanparties, also contains relevant templates for registration. 10/23

The better question is: is this process really suited for party registration and funding?
In most countries, creating a party means creating an association (defined in national law) & either just stating you are political party or writing to the relevant body that you are. 11/23

For #europeanparties, you must first register a national non-profit somewhere in the EU, and *then* register it at the EU level. Twice the paperwork. You need to ascertain you have sufficient MEPs or electoral results, you need sufficient parties across the EU, etc. 12/23

If not for the benefit of #europeanparties, but at least for that of political pluralism, this process must be simplified, incl. by the creation of a status of "European association" (allowing to directly register at the EU level) and by easing representation criteria. 13/23

It is particularly telling that, 7 years after its creation, @VoltEuropa, the most pro-European political alliance, present in all Member States under the same name/logo, campaigning on the same platform, and with elected officials in many countries, still cannot register. 14/23

The same goes for the public funding of #europeanparties, where parties that are already registered with the APPF must submit information that is already known to EU institutions. Every. single. year. 🤯 15/23
See 👇 eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/…

The reason is that instead of being directly entitled to European public funding by virtue of being registered & represented, #europeanparties must actually apply for a "contribution" in much the same way as third-party NGOs do -- regardless of their registration or status. 16/23

By contrast, #europeanparties, following their registration, should not have *anything* to do to be awarded public funding already destined for EU parties. They should be able to refuse that funding (which they won't) and should provide information if asked, but... 17/23

... this funding should be consubstantial to their treaty-recognised status as #europeanparties. However, all of this requires a notably re-write of the Regulation on European parties. And the last review, which was already narrow in scope, is still blocked in discussions. 18/23

So what's the solution? The @EU_Commission should have an honest and hard look at registration and funding processes for political parties across the member states and submit a bold proposal to the European Parliament and Council who will then decide. 19/23

This is not about liking the far-left or far-right but about ensuring political pluralism. In this sense, the fact that the ELA's registration is the first in 7 years & the first-ever not immediately following the @appf's creation is a worrying sign for pluralism in the EU. 20/23

In a representative democracy, citizens are entitled to political representation. If a party is too extreme, sanction it or ban it. If not, then administrative burden should not come in the way of its registration or its public funding. 21/23

And, while we're at it, let's be a tad bit more creative in our use of public funding for #europeanparties, and use this funding as a tool to strengthen the link between these parties and European citizens. After all, this is EU citizens' taxmoney.👇 22/23
oegfe.at/policy-briefs/…

Finally, for anyone interested in #europeanparties and their funding, make sure to follow @EDC_eudemocracy and to check out the amazing European Party Funding Observatory (EPFO)! 🇪🇺👇 23/23
epfo.eu

@EDC_eudemocracy Bonus: the estimated breakdown of EU public funding for #europeanparties if the ESN also manages to register by today (and apply for funding). Update tomorrow if it does not.

@EDC_eudemocracy Please unroll @UnrollHelper