16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 419/185

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having regard to Articles 10 and 17 of the Treaty on European Union,

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having regard to Articles 10 and 11 of the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage annexed to the Council decision of 20 September 1976, as amended (1),

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having regard to the statement by the Commission of 22 November 2012 on the elections to the European Parliament in 2014,

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having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.

whereas citizens are directly represented at Union level by Members of the European Parliament;

B.

whereas political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness and to expressing the will of the citizens of the Union;

C.

whereas the President of the European Commission is elected by Parliament on a proposal from the European Council, acting by a qualified majority, which must take into account the result of the elections to Parliament and which must have held the appropriate consultations before making its nomination;

D.

whereas the Commission, as a body, shall be responsible to the European Parliament;

E.

whereas the new Parliament needs sufficient time to organise itself in advance of the election of the Commission President;

F.

whereas for the new Commission to be ready to take office on 1 November 2014, the election of the Commission President should take place at Parliament’s constituent part-session in July 2014;

G.

whereas Parliament votes its consent to the appointment of the whole college of Commissioners after having heard the candidates proposed by the Council, in common accord with the President-elect, on the basis of suggestions made by the Member States;

1.

Urges the European political parties to nominate candidates for the Presidency of the Commission and expects those candidates to play a leading role in the parliamentary electoral campaign, in particular by personally presenting their programme in all Member States of the Union; stresses the importance of reinforcing the political legitimacy of both Parliament and the Commission by connecting their respective elections more directly to the choice of the voters;

2.

Calls for as many members of the next Commission as possible to be drawn from Members of the European Parliament, to reflect the balance between the two chambers of the legislature;

3.

Calls on the future President of the Commission to ensure that a gender balance is achieved in the European Commission; recommends that each Member State propose both a female and a male candidate for the next College of Commissioners;

4.

Considers, in view of the new arrangements for the election of the European Commission introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon and the changing relationship between Parliament and the Commission which will stem from them as from the elections in 2014, that reliable majorities in Parliament will be of paramount importance for the stability of the Union’s legislative procedures and the good functioning of its executive, and therefore calls on the Member States to establish in their electoral law, in accordance with Article 3 of the Act concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage, appropriate and proportionate minimum thresholds for the allocation of seats so as to duly reflect the citizens’ choices, as expressed in the elections, while also effectively safeguarding the functionality of Parliament;

5.

Asks the Council to consult Parliament on holding the elections on either 15-18 May or 22—25 May 2014;

6.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, the Commission and the parliaments and governments of the Member States.