—

having regard to Article 14(2) of the Treaty on European Union,

—

having regard to Article 106a(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

—

having regard to European Council Decision (EU) 2018/937 of 28 June 2018 establishing the composition of the European Parliament (1),

—

having regard to its resolution of 7 February 2018 on the composition of the European Parliament (2),

—

having regard to its legislative resolution of 3 May 2022 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, repealing Council Decision (76/787/ECSC, EEC, Euratom) and the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage annexed to that Decision (3) (‘legislative resolution of 3 May 2022 on the reform of European electoral law’),

—

having regard to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe,

—

having regard to Rules 46, 54 and 90 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A9-0214/2023),

A.

whereas the composition of the European Parliament must respect the criteria laid down in Article 14(2), first subparagraph, of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), namely representatives of the Union's citizens not exceeding seven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President, representation being degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six members per Member State and no Member State being allocated more than ninety-six seats;

B.

whereas Parliament has the right of initiative regarding the composition of the European Parliament;

C.

whereas Article 14(2) TEU states that the European Parliament is to be composed of representatives of the Union’s citizens;

D.

whereas Article 10 TEU provides inter alia that the functioning of the Union is to be founded on representative democracy, with citizens being directly represented at Union level in the European Parliament;

E.

whereas Parliament’s legislative resolution of 3 May 2022 on the reform of European electoral law proposes the establishment of a Union-wide constituency;

F.

whereas the establishment of a potential Union-wide constituency requires the Act concerning the elections of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage to be amended;

G.

whereas the determination of the number of seats of a potential Union-wide constituency falls within the remit of a European Council decision on the composition of the European Parliament based on Article 14(2) TEU, while the provisions necessary for its establishment are based on Article 223(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

H.

whereas the allocation of seats among Member States in the current and past legislative terms was not the result of a permanent calculation system, but of political negotiations; whereas, as a result, the current method of allocation of seats to Member States does not automatically comply with the principle of degressive proportionality; whereas a permanent calculation mechanism reflecting the population figures in the Member States of the Union would ensure future compliance with that principle;

I.

whereas the European Council Decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament must be ready sufficiently in advance of polling day in order to enable Member States to enact the necessary legal provisions to organise the elections to the European Parliament for the 2024-2029 parliamentary term;