Free voters, pirates, NPD and liberal-conservative reformers could have a difficult 2024 to get into European Parliament at latest. On initiative of CDU, CSU and SPD, EU states agreed on a new blocking clause. The aim is to ensure that parties in Germany with a low single-digit election result do not have a seat in European Parliament. Currently, such parties occupy 7 of 96 German seats in European Parliament.
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Since negotiations are about to take place, clause should only be effective for election 2014 and not already 2019.
Before introduction, blocking clause must still be adopted by European Parliament and n transferred to German electoral law. “Wher minimum hurdle is introduced in Germany depends on legislative process in German Bundestag,” said SPD MEP Jo Leinen.
From Kleinstparteien came fierce criticism. “To want to drop millions of voters under table just to get mselves more posts – that’s unscrupulous,” said federal president of Pirate Party, Carsten Sawosch. His organisation will act legally against such a clause. MEP Arne Ricke (free voters) said: “Operation successful, democracy dead.”
Mockery of Sonneborn
In addition to pirates, free voters and right NPD, planned amendment of EU electoral law could, for example, meet Ecological-Democratic Party (ÖDP) and party of satirist Martin Sonneborn. They all had made ir entry into European Parliament at election 2014, because Federal Constitutional Court had shortly before deleted three percent hurdle in German Europe elections. The mandates that once reached AfD are also at risk: Until now se members are members of ir new parties in European Parliament – as Liberal-conservative reformers or as members of Blue Party.
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On part of Kleinstparteien, reform project is criticized especially with regard to judgments of Federal Constitutional Court. The parties argue, for example, that risk of fragmentation in European Parliament is low, because members of small parties often join a group that is about to represent ir political ideas. Currently, for example, five of seven German individual representatives are members of one of major EU parliamentary groups.
MEP Martin Sonneborn reacted with ridicule. He is surprised that SPD supports reform, said parliamentarian. His “one-percent-party” and SPD had recently separated only 16 percentage points in polls. “I think Social Democrats should see that a five-percent hurdle can be quite high,” he added. Sonneborn had not been elected as a politician, but as a satirist.
