Considered by the institutional structure of the European Union (EU) and the literature as a moral platform, the European Parliament takes the reigns of democracy as a point of reference to develop an international presence via its parliamentary diplomacy. Positioned as the main representative of democracy in the European apparatus due to its direct elections, the Parliament produces resolutions on a multitude of international issues, including the state of democracy. Despite efforts to produce resolutions, organize election observation missions and reward democratic leaders, approaches to supporting democracy within the EU continue to focus on other institutions and neglect the role of Parliament in the material. This short and quick article aims to shed light on the ongoing actions of Parliament as a promoter of democracy.
Filled with executive privilege, the analysis of foreign policy developments within the EU focuses primarily on the role of coordination between member states through the Council, and the role of the Commission through the European Service for External Action (EEAS) created in Lisbon. Considering Parliament as an institution which only requires more formal participation while operating within the narrow limits of its foreign policy action within the framework of the treaties leads the reader to ignore a very rich set of documents produced by Parliament in matters of foreign policy. A sign of the dominance of this approach is the neglect of Parliament as a supporter of democracy in affairs outside the EU. Analyzes on the promotion of democracy in the EU consider decisions taken by Member States or the Commission as the sole identity of such policy.
Specialists in European politics and parliamentary studies have majestically filled the first gap regarding Parliament’s disregard for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). For example, one of the aims of the literature on Parliament’s parliamentary diplomacy is to shed some light on the issue, focusing analyzes on topics such as Parliament’s participation in the CFSP and interparliamentary relations with other countries. other regional parliaments. . The challenge here is to address the role of Parliament as a defender of democracy and highlighting the instruments of support for democracy can help visualize this point.
Within the European Parliament bureaucracy, when focusing on democracy support, it is important to highlight the role of the Democracy Support and Electoral Coordination Group (DEG) as the office responsible for organizing work and data on the state of democracy in the EU. and beyond. By taking electoral democracy as a reference and developing a so-called global approach, Parliament is consolidating this issue as an important area. To illustrate the support for democracy provided by Parliament, I highlight two instruments: resolutions and the Sakharov Prize.
Resolutions are the main document produced by Parliament meetings, being legally binding when approved by a majority of MPs. The richness of the texts of the resolutions provides an interesting and useful set of data for research. Analyzing the measures that MPs decide to implement in a given case is a way of tracing their course of action on certain issues. The content of the text can also provide illuminating data possibly highlighting a strategy of support or denunciation and shame. To support democracy, resolutions can set out MEPs’ views on the state of democracy in a country, what they see as problematic, and which leaders to name and shame or name and congratulate. The voting procedures for resolutions also crystallize more data on political or national divisions on the issues approved in Parliament. Resolutions, for example on the case of Venezuela, can also present support for a Council sanctions decision when a violation of democracy is identified by Parliament.
Complementing resolutions, another instrument developed by Parliament to declare its open support for democracy and, more particularly, democratic leaders is the Sakharov Prize. Not only the final choice of the winner but also the shortlist of the three finalists for the prize indicate the positioning of the political groups on the chosen democratic directions. The process involves the nomination of a candidate for the award by each political group in Parliament and the final vote requires the choice of all groups and the President of Parliament. The choice of the winner also shows how important the state of democracy in the person’s country is to Parliament and how political coordination between the groups minimally agrees on the issue. Continuing Venezuela’s example, the democratic opposition was rewarded in 2017 amid increasing parliamentary attention to the country with the de-democratization of Maduro’s government.
Some emblematic cases can serve as illustrations of the use of these instruments such as, in addition to the case of Venezuela mentioned above, the cases of Nicaragua and Bolivia also providing fruitful discussions on their use. It is important to emphasize that these are not the only instruments used by Parliament, but only two of them. Others not covered in this article concern participation in election observation missions and budgetary influence within the EU. Resolutions, being the main legal tool of Parliament, are the instrument with the greatest legal impact on Parliament’s competences in accordance with the EU Treaties. The case of the Sakharov Prize as an instrument of support for democracy may be the main contribution of this article in terms of examining a nomination and winner that represents a statement on the state of democracy in a country .
After this brief discussion on the two instruments of the European Parliament for supporting democracy, we can see that the institution is active on the issue of democracy in the world. The scope of its actions may be limited by treaty provisions, but as the literature on parliamentary diplomacy highlights, Parliament has been creative in developing instruments to get its message across. Mainly through its resolutions, but also through other measures such as the awarding of the Sakharov Prize, Parliament is sensitive to developments in democracy around the world, paying particular attention to the rise of challengers and the drivers of autocratization.
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