Committee Reports::Report No. 07 - European Parliament Direct Elections::04 June, 1975::Appendix


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Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1975 > Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities > Report No. 07 - European Parliament Direct Elections

APPENDIX

The main provision of the draft Convention are—

(i) Representation

Belgium 23; Denmark 17; Germany 71; France 65; Ireland 13; Italy 66; Luxembourg 6; Netherlands 27; United Kingdom 67; (total 355).

The Parliament, the Commission or the Government of a Member State may propose to the Council changes in such membership. Representatives shall be elected for a term of 5 years, shall vote on an individual and personal basis, shall receive the same guarantee as to independence, indemnity and immunity as their counterparts in national Parliaments and may be members of national Parliaments.

It may be mentioned that the Report of the Political Affairs Committee (Patijn Report—PE 37.881/1) suggested that seats be allocated in the following way:

States with a population below one million qualify for six seats; over one million but below 2.5 million, 12 seats; up to a population of 5 million, one extra seat for each additional 500 thousand population; between 5 million and 10 million one further seat for every additional 750 thousand population; between 10 million and 50 million, a further seat for each additional one million population; and for a population exceeding 50 million, one further seat for every additional 1.5 million inhabitants.

The ratio of seats to population actually works out as follows:

Luxembourg	1	member	per	60,000	population
Ireland	1	„	„	230,000	„
Denmark	1	„	„	290,000	„
Belgium	1	„	„	420,000	„
Netherlands	1	„	„	490,000	„
France	1	„	„	800,000	„
Italy	1	„	„	820,000	„
United Kingdom	1	„	„	830,000	„
Germany	1	„	„	870,000	„

(ii) Candidature

The draft convention does not specify any positive requirement in relation to candidature but states that “the provisions of each Member State relating to incompatibility with a national parliamentary mandate shall be applied”. It does provide, however, that the following shall be ineligible for membership:

Ministers of National Governments,

Judges, advocates-general or registrar at the Court of Justice,

Member of the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the Consultative Committee of the ECSC, the Economic and Social Committee, Euratom, and other committees or bodies set up in pursuance of the Treaties,

Members of the Board of Directors, Management Committee or staff of the European Investment Bank, and Officers and servants of the Communities.

(iii) Electoral System

The European Parliament shall draw up a uniform electoral system by 1980; in the interim each Member State shall decide its own system of election.

Pending the entry into force of a uniform electoral system the European Parliament shall verify the credentials of representatives and rule on any disputes in this connection and Member States shall lay down appropriate procedures for the filling of casual vacancies.

(iv) First Elections

The first election shall be held not later than the first Sunday in May 1978. The outgoing Parliament shall remain in office until the first sitting of the new Parliament.

(v) Ratification of the Convention

The terms of the Convention itself must be ratified by each Member State in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.