The Diplomat
The European Parliament yesterday approved a proposal to increase the number of MEPs by eleven after the 2024 European elections. If it goes ahead, Spain would have two more MEPs than at present.
Specifically, the new composition of the Chamber would have 716 seats after the European elections of June 2024. The aim of this proposal, as reported by the European Parliament’s office in Madrid, is “to reflect the demographic changes since the 2019 elections.” The countries benefiting from this increase would be Spain (which would go from 59 to 61), the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Ireland, Slovenia and Latvia.
Once the proposal is approved, it is up to the European Council to adopt a decision on the composition of the European Parliament by unanimity, which, in turn, will require the subsequent approval of the European Parliament itself. MEPs insisted yesterday on the need to act “swiftly” to give Member States time to adopt the necessary changes before next year’s elections, and called on the European Council to notify them “without delay” if it plans to deviate from its proposal.
The composition of the Parliament is reviewed before each election. It must respect the principles set out in the Treaties (i.e. maximum 750 MEPs plus the president, a minimum of six seats per country and maximum of 96, and the principle of “degressive proportionality”) and take into account the most recent population data. In 2018, Spain went from 54 to 59 MEPs as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU.
MEPs want to maintain a reserve of 28 seats for members elected in a future pan-European constituency (transnational lists), in line with the European Parliament’s proposal on electoral law, which is still awaiting progress in the Council. In this regard, they warn that further delays in the Council’s work in this area “violate the principle of loyal cooperation between the institutions”, given that the Council’s decision will foreseeably have an impact on the European elections and may also affect the composition of the House.
