EurActiv Institute invites the European political parties to discuss about the European primary elections for 2019

Recently, I took the initiative to organise a roundtable debate with the EurActiv Institute entitled: “Which European primary election system for citizens to connect better with the EU?”

In 2014 the European Union introduced the Spitzenkandidaten system with primary elections for the first time at the European level. Each party put forward one candidate who would become the new President of the European Commission should they win the most votes. The appointment of Mr. Juncker as the new European Commission President confirmed that these innovations mattered and is a step closer towards European democracy. With lessons from the 2014 campaigns still fresh in peoples’ minds, this is the perfect time to start the discussions within and among European political parties on how we could improve the system for the European elections in 2019.

On Thursday, 28th May 2015, I will moderate a debate with the leading European Political Parties: European People’s Party, Party of European Socialists, Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, Party of the European Left and European Green Party. The main focus will be the ideas regarding the European primary elections ahead of the next round in 2019. The purpose of this roundtable is to analyse the impact of the Spitzenkandidaten system in the 2014 elections and to discuss how political parties foresee their EU primaries in 2019.

In the past years, I continuously researched the impact of the primary elections to the EU citizens. The most interesting results have been presented in the following articles:

David Miliband – President of the European Commission in 2014 (3 October 2010)

EU Communication and European leaders (28 January 2012)

What kind of Primary election in EU? (22 February 2012)

Is it still possible to have European primary elections?   (4 April 2012)

Accountability and the EU  (12 January 2013) 

 The European Socialist’s candidate (3 May 2013)

How would Obama adapt the European electoral system? (13 September 2013)

Angela Merkel believed in the EU Primary elections - and won! (28 August 2014)

A history of traumas of EU Communication (5 September 2014)

In order to benefit the most of the EurActiv Institute debates, I was invited to support and encourage the debates also among the European political foundations, the political groups from the EP, leading Brussels think tanks, NGOs, professors from universities and various opinion leaders on the topic.

I hope that the results of the round-table will motivate the big political families from Europe to start an internal discussion and propose already early on courageous mechanisms for the European Primary elections 2019.

Dan LUCA / Brussels