Przyszłość wyborów do Parlamentu Europejskiego

Abstract

The main research problem of this article is the future of the elections to the European Parliament (EP) in the context of the ongoing debates and reform proposals. This article constitutes a critical reflection on the content of the discussions about EP elections reform. Based on qualitative analysis of the EP elections status quo and the reform proposals, the author claims that the top-down efforts for election reforms are doomed to fail not only due to the existing institutional resistance from Member States and inside the EU, but also due to the essence of the proposed changes. The identified procedural, representative and participative challenges underline the incomplete elections environment. Should the genuine aim of the reforms be the growth of democratic legitimisation of the integration process, there is a need for departure from the framework of the existing reform proposals. One of the possible solutions can be the imperative mandate.