DISINFO: EU elections are not fair
SUMMARY
Future elections to the European Parliament are not fair - the talk of democracy and values has nothing to do with the real EU.
On 9 June, there are elections to the European Parliament. The elections are free and secret, but they are not fair. A vote in a small EU country is weighted more heavily than the vote of a voter from an EU country with a large population. A Latvian vote counts more than that of a German voter. That's where the inconsistencies begin, but they don't stop there. Anyone familiar with the EU knows that all the talk of democracy and values has nothing to do with the real EU.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative targeting the upcoming EU elections and accusing the European Union of corruption and a lack of democracy.
The European elections are one of the biggest democratic votes in the world. The European Parliament elections will be held on 6-9 June 2024 and are already under the monitoring of the OSCE. An ODIHR needs assessment mission report was published in February 2024. It is a massive process as it will take place in the 27 Member states. The continent-wide elections will see 720 members of the European Parliament elected. This is an increase from the current 705 seats to accommodate demographic changes in several member states. Citizens of the member states feel involved as the last December’s Autumn Eurobarometer survey indicated that:
- 70% of citizens acknowledged that the EU has an impact on their daily lives
- 72% think that their country has benefited from EU membership
- 57% of citizens are interested in the 2024 European elections
- 68% said they would be likely to vote if the European elections were held next week.
National election authorities work to ensure that the European elections are fair and free from interference and manipulation. They do this in accordance with European and national law and with the support of EU institutions.
The number of MEPs elected from each EU country is agreed before each election and is based on the principle of degressive proportionality, which means each MEP from a larger country represents more people than an MEP from a smaller country. The minimum number of MEPs from any country is six (for Malta) and the maximum number is 96 (for Germany). The principle of degressive proportionality, however, is not unfair, but agreed by all member states and allows all EU countries to be appropriately represented at the EU Parliament.
Democracy, alongside human dignity, freedom, equality, rule of law and equal rights, is one of the core values of the EU. The functioning of the EU is founded on representative democracy. A European citizen automatically enjoys political rights. Every adult EU citizen has the right to stand as a candidate and to vote in elections to the European Parliament. EU citizens have the right to stand as a candidate and to vote in their country of residence, or in their country of origin.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that in the EU and US elections are not democratic, in Donetsk they are, that the EU is totally undemocratic and that more and more European countries embrace Nazism.