Conditions for registration
1. A political alliance may apply to register as a European political party subject to the following conditions:
(a)
it has its seat in a Member State as indicated in its statutes;
(b)
at least one of the following applies:
(i)
its member parties are represented by, in at least one quarter of the Member States, members of the European Parliament, of national parliaments, of regional parliaments or of regional assemblies,
(ii)
it or its member parties have received, in at least one quarter of the Member States, at least three per cent of the votes cast in each of those Member States at the most recent elections to the European Parliament;
(c)
its member parties are not members of another European political party;
(d)
it observes, in particular in its programme and in its activities, the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, namely respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(e)
it ensures that its member parties observe, in particular in their programmes and activities, the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(f)
it ensures that its member parties or their individual members are not subject to restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215(2) TFEU;
(g)
it or its members have participated in elections to the European Parliament, or have expressed publicly their intention to participate in the next elections to the European Parliament;
(h)
it does not pursue profit goals.
2. An entity shall be entitled to apply to register as a European political foundation, subject to the following conditions:
(a)
it is affiliated with a European political party registered in accordance with this Regulation;
(b)
it has its seat in a Member State as indicated in its statutes;
(c)
it observes, in particular in its programme and in its activities, the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, namely respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(d)
it ensures that its member organisations observe the values set out in Article 2 TEU, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(e)
it ensures that its member organisations or their individual members, are not subject to restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215(2) TFEU;
(f)
its objectives complement the objectives of the European political party with which it is formally affiliated;
(g)
its governing body is composed of members from at least one quarter of the Member States;
(h)
it does not pursue profit goals.
3. A European political party may have only one formally affiliated European political foundation. Each European political party and the affiliated European political foundation shall ensure a separation between their respective day-to-day management, governing structures and financial accounts.
Governance of European political parties
1. The statutes of a European political party shall comply with the applicable law of the Member State in which it has its seat and shall include provisions covering at least the following:
(a)
its name and logo, which shall be clearly distinguishable from those of any existing European political party or European political foundation;
(b)
the address of its seat;
(c)
a political programme setting out its purpose and objectives;
(d)
a statement, in accordance with Article 3(1), point (h), that it does not pursue profit goals;
(e)
where relevant, the name of its affiliated European political foundation and a description of the formal relationship between them;
(f)
its administrative and financial organisation and procedures, specifying in particular the bodies and offices holding the powers of administrative, financial and legal representation and the rules on the establishment, approval and verification of annual accounts;
(g)
the internal procedure to be followed in the event of its voluntary dissolution as a European political party;
(h)
its internal rules regarding gender balance.
2. The statutes of a European political party shall include provisions on internal party organisation covering at least the following:
(a)
the detailed arrangements for the admission, resignation and exclusion of its members, the list of its member parties being annexed to the statutes;
(b)
the rights and duties associated with all types of membership and the relevant voting rights;
(c)
the powers, responsibilities and composition of its governing bodies, specifying for each the criteria for the selection of candidates and the detailed arrangements for their appointment and dismissal;
(d)
its internal decision-making processes, in particular the voting procedures and quorum requirements;
(e)
its approach to transparency, in particular in relation to bookkeeping, accounts and donations, privacy and the protection of personal data;
(f)
the internal procedure for amending its statutes.
3. The statutes of a European political party shall ensure that:
(a)
all votes shall gather the support of a majority of members who have their seat in, or are citizens of, the Union in order to pass;
(b)
votes cast by associated member parties shall not be decisive towards a majority;
(c)
furthermore, associated member parties cannot, individually or collectively, impose a course of action against, or block, a majority of the voting citizens of the Union or members of the European political party concerned;
(d)
representatives of associated member parties cannot receive executive powers by delegation in the governing bodies.
4. The Member State of the seat may impose additional requirements for the statutes, provided that those additional requirements are not inconsistent with this Regulation.
Transparency obligations with regard to use of logos, publication of political programme and gender balance
1. Each European political party shall ensure that its member parties publish on their website the political programme of the European political party and display the logo of the European political party on their website. The logo of the European political party shall be displayed in the top section of the member party’s homepage, in a clearly visible manner.
2. Each European political party shall publish on its website information on the gender balance among the candidates in the elections to the European Parliament that take place after 28 December 2025, along with updated information on gender representation among their members of the European Parliament.
Each European political party shall ensure that its member parties from the Union publish on their websites information on the gender balance among their respective candidates in elections to the European Parliament and the gender representation among their respective members of the European Parliament.
Governance of European political foundations
1. The statutes of a European political foundation shall comply with the applicable law of the Member State in which it has its seat and shall include provisions covering at least the following:
(a)
its name and logo, which shall be clearly distinguishable from those of any existing European political party or European political foundation;
(b)
the address of its seat;
(c)
a description of its purpose and objectives, which shall be compatible with the tasks listed in Article 2, point (6);
(d)
a statement, in accordance with Article 3(2), point (h), that it does not pursue profit goals;
(e)
the name of the European political party with which it is directly affiliated, and a description of the formal relationship between them;
(f)
a list of its bodies, specifying for each its powers, responsibilities and composition, and including the detailed arrangements for the appointment and dismissal of the members and managers of such bodies;
(g)
its administrative and financial organisation and procedures, specifying in particular the bodies and offices holding the powers of administrative, financial and legal representation and the rules on the establishment, approval and verification of annual accounts;
(h)
the internal procedure for amending its statutes;
(i)
the internal procedure to be followed in the event of its voluntary dissolution as a European political foundation;
(j)
its internal rules regarding gender balance;
(k)
the rules regulating the rights and obligations of associated member organisations in the governance structures and in the decision making processes of the European political foundation ensuring adequate safeguards against foreign interference and preventing that associated member organisations impose a course of action or block a majority of the members from the Union.
2. The Member State of the seat may impose additional requirements for the statutes, provided that those additional requirements are not inconsistent with this Regulation.
Requirements for gender balance rule
1. Governing bodies of European political parties and European political foundations shall be gender balanced.
2. European political parties and European political foundations shall have internal mechanisms in place promoting gender balance and encouraging the active participation of women in all their activities.
3. European political parties and European political foundations shall have a protocol in place to prevent, detect and work continuously against sexual harassment as well as discrimination on the basis of gender.
Authority for European political parties and European political foundations
1. An Authority for European political parties and European political foundations (‘Authority’) is established for the purpose of registering, controlling and imposing sanctions on European political parties and European political foundations in accordance with this Regulation.
2. The Authority shall have legal personality. It shall be independent and shall exercise its functions in full compliance with this Regulation.
The Authority shall decide on the registration and removal from the Register of European political parties and European political foundations in accordance with the procedures and conditions laid down in this Regulation. In addition, the Authority shall regularly verify that the registration conditions laid down in Article 3 and the governance provisions set out in accordance with Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), Article 4(3) and Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), (g) and (k), continue to be complied with by the registered European political parties and European political foundations.
In its decisions, the Authority shall give full consideration to the fundamental right of freedom of association and to the need to ensure pluralism of political parties in Europe.
The Authority shall be represented by its Director who shall take all decisions of the Authority on its behalf.
3. The Director of the Authority shall be appointed for a five-year non-renewable term by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (jointly referred to as the ‘appointing authority’) by common accord, on the basis of proposals made by a selection committee composed of the Secretaries-General of those institutions following an open call for candidates.
The Director of the Authority shall be selected on the basis of his or her personal and professional qualities. He or she shall not be a member of the European Parliament, hold any electoral mandate or be a current or former employee of a European political party or a European political foundation. The Director selected shall not have a conflict of interests between his or her duty as Director of the Authority and any other official duties, in particular in relation to the application of the provisions of this Regulation.
A vacancy caused by resignation, retirement, dismissal or death shall be filled in accordance with the same procedure.
In the event of a normal replacement or voluntary resignation the Director shall remain in office until a replacement has taken up his or her duties.
If the Director of the Authority no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his or her duties, he or she may be dismissed by common accord by at least two of the three institutions referred to in the first subparagraph and on the basis of a report drawn up by the selection committee referred to in the first subparagraph on its own initiative or following a request from any of the three institutions.
The Director of the Authority shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties. When acting on behalf of the Authority, the Director shall neither seek nor take instructions from any institution or government or from any other body, office or agency. The Director of the Authority shall refrain from any act which is incompatible with the nature of his or her duties.
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall exercise jointly, with regard to the Director, the powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations of Officials (and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union) laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 ( 14 ) . Without prejudice to decisions on appointment and dismissal, the three institutions may agree to entrust the exercise of some or all of the remaining powers conferred on the appointing authority to any one of them.
The appointing authority may assign the Director to other tasks provided that such tasks are not incompatible with the workload resulting from his or her duties as Director of the Authority and are not liable to create any conflict of interests or to jeopardise the full independence of the Director.
4. The Authority shall be physically located in the European Parliament, which shall provide the Authority with the necessary offices and administrative support facilities.
5. The Director of the Authority shall be assisted by staff in respect of whom he or she shall exercise the powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the powers conferred on the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment of other servants by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (the ‘appointing authority’s powers’). The Authority may make use in any areas of its work of seconded national experts or of other staff not employed by the Authority.
The Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants and the rules adopted by agreement between the institutions of the Union for giving effect to those Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants shall apply to the staff of the Authority.
The selection of the staff shall not be liable to result in a conflict of interests between their duties at the Authority and any other official duties, and they shall refrain from any act which is incompatible with the nature of their duties.
6. The Authority shall conclude agreements with the European Parliament and, if appropriate, with other institutions on any administrative arrangements necessary to enable it to carry out its tasks, in particular agreements regarding the staff, services and support provided pursuant to paragraphs 4, 5 and 8.
7. The appropriations for the expenditure of the Authority shall be provided under a separate Title in the Section for the European Parliament in the general budget of the Union. The appropriations shall be sufficient to ensure the full and independent operation of the Authority. A draft budgetary plan for the Authority shall be submitted to the European Parliament by the Director, and shall be made public. The European Parliament shall delegate the duties of the Authorising Officer with respect to those appropriations to the Director of the Authority.
8. Council Regulation No 1 ( 15 ) shall apply to the Authority.
The translation services required for the functioning of the Authority and the Register shall be provided by the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union.
9. The Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall share all information necessary for the execution of their respective responsibilities under this Regulation.
10. The Director shall submit annually a report to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the activities of the Authority. The Authority shall make the reports public on its website.
11. The Court of Justice of the European Union shall review the legality of the decisions of the Authority in accordance with Article 263 TFEU and shall have jurisdiction in disputes relating to compensation for damage caused by the Authority in accordance with Articles 268 and 340 TFEU. Should the Authority fail to take a decision where it is required to do so by this Regulation, proceedings for failure to act may be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union in accordance with Article 265 TFEU.
Register of European political parties and European political foundations
1. The Authority shall establish and manage a Register of European political parties and European political foundations. Information from the Register shall be made available online in accordance with Article 39.
2. In order to ensure the proper functioning of the Register, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 43 and within the scope of the relevant provisions of this Regulation in order to supplement this Regulation by setting out:
(a)
the information and supporting documents held by the Authority for which the Register is to be the competent repository, which shall include the statutes of a European political party or European political foundation, any other documents submitted as part of an application for registration in accordance with Article 10(2), any documents received from the Member State of the seat as referred to in Article 20(2), and information on the identity of the persons who are members of bodies or hold offices that are vested with powers of administrative, financial and legal representation, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (f), and Article 6(1), point (g);
(b)
the materials from the Register referred to in point (a) of this subparagraph for which the Register is to be competent to certify legality as established by the Authority pursuant to its competences under this Regulation.
The Authority shall not be competent to verify compliance by a European political party or European political foundation with any obligation or requirement imposed on the party or foundation concerned by the Member State of the seat pursuant to Articles 4 and 6, and Article 19(2), which is additional to the obligations and requirements laid down by this Regulation.
3. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the details of the registration number system to be applied for the Register and the standard extracts from the Register to be made available to third parties upon request, including the content of letters and documents. Such extracts shall not include personal data other than the identity of the persons who are members of bodies or hold offices that are vested with powers of administrative, financial and legal representation, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (f), and Article 6(1), point (g).
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 44.
Application for registration
1. An application for registration shall be filed with the Authority. An application for registration as a European political foundation shall be filed only through the European political party with which the applicant is formally affiliated.
2. The application shall be accompanied by:
(a)
documents proving that the applicant satisfies the conditions laid down in Article 3, including a standard formal declaration in the form set out in Annex I;
(b)
the statutes of the party or foundation, containing the provisions required by Articles 4 and 6, including the relevant annexes and, where applicable, the statement of the Member State of the seat referred to in Article 20(2).
3. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 43 and within the scope of the relevant provisions of this Regulation to:
(a)
supplement this Regulation by identifying any supplementary information or supporting document in relation to paragraph 2 necessary to allow the Authority to fully discharge its responsibilities under this Regulation in relation to the operation of the Register;
(b)
amend this Regulation by adapting, where necessary, the standard formal declaration in Annex I in respect of the particulars to be filled in by the applicant, in order to ensure that sufficient information is being held in relation to the signatory, their mandate and the European political party or European political foundation which he or she is mandated to represent for the purposes of the declaration.
4. Documentation submitted to the Authority as part of the application shall be published immediately on the website referred to in Article 39.
Examination of the application and decision of the Authority
1. The application shall be examined by the Authority in order to determine whether the applicant satisfies the conditions for registration laid down in Article 3 and whether the statutes contain the provisions required by Articles 4 and 6.
2. The Authority shall adopt a decision to register the applicant, unless it establishes that the applicant does not satisfy the conditions for registration laid down in Article 3 or that the statutes do not contain the provisions required by Articles 4 and 6.
The Authority shall publish its decision to register the applicant within one month following receipt of the application for registration or, where the procedures set out in Article 20(4) are applicable, within four months following receipt of the application for registration.
Where an application is incomplete, the Authority shall ask the applicant without delay to submit any additional information required. For the purposes of the deadline laid down in the second subparagraph, time shall only start to run from the date of receipt by the Authority of a complete application.
3. The standard formal declaration referred to in Article 10(2), point (a), shall be considered sufficient for the Authority to ascertain that the applicant complies with the conditions specified in Article 3(1), points (d) and (e), or Article 3(2), points (c) and (d), whichever is applicable.
4. A decision of the Authority to register an applicant shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union , together with the statutes of the party or foundation concerned. A decision not to register an applicant shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union , together with the detailed grounds for rejection.
5. Any amendments to the documents or statutes submitted as part of the application for registration in accordance with Article 10(2) shall be notified to the Authority within two months. The Authority shall update the registration in the light of such amendments. The procedures set out in Article 20(2) and (4) shall apply, mutatis mutandis .
6. By 30 September each year, the updated list of member parties of a European political party, annexed to the party statutes in accordance with Article 4(2), shall be sent to the Authority, together with the standard formal declaration, using the template set out in Annex I, if a new member party has joined. Any changes following which the European political party might no longer satisfy the condition laid down in Article 3(1), point (b), shall be communicated to the Authority within four weeks of any such change.
Verification of compliance with registration conditions and requirements and examination of grounds of removal from the Register
1. Without prejudice to the procedure laid down in Article 13, the Authority shall regularly verify that the conditions for registration laid down in Article 3, and the governance provisions set out in Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), in Article 4(3), and in Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), (g) and (k), continue to be complied with by registered European political parties and European political foundations.
2. If the Authority considers that one of the grounds for removal from the Register under Article 21(1), point (a), or Article 21(2) might apply to a European political party or European political foundation, it shall inform the European political party or European political foundation concerned without undue delay. When informing a European political party or European political foundation, the Authority shall invite that European political party or European political foundation to submit its observations within one month of receipt of the information.
3. In the event of non-compliance with Article 3(1), point (c), (f), (g) or (h), Article 3(2), point (e), (f), (g) or (h), or the governance provisions set out in Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), in Article 4(3), and in Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), (g) and (k), the Authority shall give the European political party or European political foundation concerned the opportunity to introduce the measures required to remedy the situation within the deadline referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. The Authority may, at the reasoned request of the European political party or European political foundation concerned, extend that deadline if and in so far as the Authority considers such an extension to be necessary and appropriate in view of the corrective measures planned by the European political party or European political foundation.
4. At the expiry of the deadline referred to in paragraphs 2 or 3 of this Article, or upon receipt of any observations or information concerning corrective measures from the European political party or European political foundation concerned before the expiry of the deadline, the Authority shall, without undue delay and in the light of any such observations or information, assess whether any of the grounds for removal from the Register under Article 21(1), point (a), or Article 21(2), apply to the European political party or European political foundation.
Verification of the registration conditions relating to the values upon which the Union is founded
1. The European Parliament, acting on its own initiative or following a reasoned request from a group of citizens, submitted in accordance with the relevant provisions of its Rules of Procedure, or the Council or the Commission, may submit a request to the Authority for it to verify whether a specific European political party or European political foundation complies with the conditions laid down in Article 3(1), points (d) and (e), and Article 3(2), points (c) and (d). In such cases, and in the cases referred to in Article 14(2), the Authority shall inform the European political party or European political foundation concerned without undue delay, invite it to submit its observations and give it the opportunity to introduce measures to remedy the situation within one month of receipt of the information.
2. The Authority may, at the reasoned request of the European political party or European political foundation concerned, extend the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 if and in so far as the Authority considers such an extension to be necessary and appropriate in view of the corrective measures planned by the European political party or European political foundation.
3. Upon the expiry of the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article, or upon receipt of any observations and information concerning corrective measures from the European political party or European political foundation concerned before the expiry of the deadline, the Authority shall submit the observations made by the European political party or European political foundation concerned and, where applicable, the description of the corrective measures taken by that party or foundation to the committee of independent eminent persons referred to in Article 16, and shall ask that committee for an opinion on the subject. The committee shall give its opinion within two months of the Authority’s request.
4. Where facts which cast doubt on compliance by a specific European political party or European political foundation with the conditions laid down in Article 3(1), points (d) and (e), and Article 3(2), points (c) and (d), come to the attention of the Authority, the Authority shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission with a view to enabling any of those institutions to lodge a request for verification as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall declare their intention to lodge a request for verification within two months of receipt of the information.
5. The procedure laid down in paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not be initiated in the two-month period immediately before the holding of elections to the European Parliament.
6. The Authority shall decide whether to remove the European political party or European political foundation concerned from the Register, taking into account the opinion of the committee of independent eminent persons referred to in Article 16. The decision of the Authority shall be duly reasoned.
7. A decision of the Authority to remove the European political party or European political foundation concerned from the Register on grounds of non-compliance with the conditions set out in Article 3(1), point (d) or (e), or Article 3(2), point (c) or (d), shall only be adopted in the event of a manifest and serious breach of those conditions. The decision shall be subject to the procedure set out in paragraph 8 of this Article.
8. A decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register on the ground of a manifest and serious breach of the conditions set out in Article 3(1), point (d) or (e), or Article 3(2), point (c) or (d), shall be communicated to the European Parliament and the Council. The decision shall enter into force only if no objection is made by the European Parliament and the Council within a period of three months of the communication of the decision to them or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Authority that they will not object. In the event of an objection by the European Parliament and by the Council, the European political party or European political foundation shall remain registered.
9. The European Parliament and the Council may only object to a decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register on grounds related to the assessment of compliance with the conditions for registration set out in Article 3(1), point (d) or (e), or Article 3(2), point (c) or (d).
10. Where an objection has been made to a decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register, the Authority shall inform the European political party or European political foundation concerned of the objection.
11. The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt a position in accordance with their respective decision-making rules adopted in accordance with the Treaties. Any objection to a decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register shall be duly reasoned and shall be made public.
Verification of obligations under national law
1. If a European political party or a European political foundation has seriously failed to fulfil relevant obligations under national law applicable pursuant to Article 19(2), first subparagraph, the Member State of the seat of the European political party or European political foundation may submit to the Authority a request for removal from the Register. That request shall be duly reasoned. In particular, it shall precisely and exhaustively identify the illegal actions and the specific national requirements that have not been complied with.
If the subject matter of the Member State’s request pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph relates exclusively or predominantly to elements affecting respect for the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, the Authority shall launch the verification procedure in accordance with Article 13 of this Regulation.
For any other matter, where, in its request pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Member State confirms that an effective remedy against such a request exists at national level and all remedies concerning such a request have been exhausted, the Authority shall, after hearing the representative of the European political party or European political foundation concerned, assess whether the ground for removal from the Register under Article 21(1), point (d), applies to the European political party or European political foundation concerned.
2. If a European political party or a European political foundation has seriously failed to fulfil relevant obligations under national law applicable pursuant to Article 19(2), second subparagraph, of this Regulation, and if the matter relates exclusively or predominantly to elements affecting respect for the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, the Member State concerned may submit a request to the Authority in accordance with paragraph 1, first subparagraph, of this Article. The Authority shall proceed in accordance with paragraph 1, second subparagraph, of this Article.
3. For the purposes of this Article, the Authority shall in all cases act without undue delay. The Authority shall inform the Member State concerned and the European political party or European political foundation concerned of the actions taken in response to the reasoned request for removal from the Register.
Verification procedure related to infringements of rules on the protection of personal data
1. No European political party or European political foundation shall deliberately influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of an infringement by a natural or legal person of the applicable rules on the protection of personal data.
2. If the Authority is informed of a decision of a national supervisory authority within the meaning of Article 4, point (21), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 finding that a natural or legal person has infringed applicable rules on the protection of personal data, and if it follows from that decision, or if there are otherwise reasonable grounds to believe, that the infringement is linked to political activities by a European political party or a European political foundation in the context of elections to the European Parliament, the Authority shall refer this matter to the committee of independent eminent persons referred to in Article 16 of this Regulation. The Authority may, if necessary, liaise with the national supervisory authority concerned.
3. The committee referred to in paragraph 2 shall give an opinion as to whether the European political party or European political foundation concerned has deliberately influenced or attempted to influence the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of that infringement. The Authority shall request the opinion without undue delay, and no later than one month after being informed of the decision of the national supervisory authority. The Authority shall set a short, reasonable deadline for the committee to give its opinion. The committee shall comply with that deadline.
4. Having regard to the committee’s opinion, the Authority shall decide, pursuant to Article 32(1), point (a)(ix), whether to impose financial sanctions on the European political party or European political foundation concerned. The decision of the Authority shall be duly reasoned, in particular with regard to the committee’s opinion, and shall be published expeditiously.
5. The procedure set out in this Article is without prejudice to the procedure set out in Articles 12, 13 and 14. The prohibition on the submission of verification request pursuant to Article 13(1) to (4) during the two-month period immediately before elections to the European Parliament laid down in Article 13(5) shall not apply to the procedure set out in this Article.
Committee of independent eminent persons
1. The committee of independent eminent persons established by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 shall consist of six members, with the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission each appointing two members. The members of the committee shall be selected on the basis of their personal and professional qualities. They shall neither be members of the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission, nor hold any electoral mandate, be officials or other servants of the European Union or be current or former employees of a European political party or a European political foundation.
Members of the committee shall be independent in the performance of their duties. They shall neither seek nor take instructions from any institution or government or from any other body, office or agency, and shall refrain from any act which is incompatible with the nature of their duties.
The committee shall be renewed within six months after the end of the first session of the European Parliament following each election to the European Parliament. The mandate of the members shall not be renewable.
2. The committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure. The chair of the committee shall be elected by its members from amongst their number in accordance with those rules. The secretariat and funding of the committee shall be provided by the European Parliament. The secretariat of the committee shall act under the sole authority of the committee.
3. When requested by the Authority, the committee shall give an opinion on:
(a)
any possible manifest and serious breach of the values on which the Union is founded, as referred to in Article 3(1), point (d) and (e), and Article 3(2), point (c) and (d), by a European political party or a European political foundation;
(b)
whether a European political party or a European political foundation has deliberately influenced or attempted to influence the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of an infringement of the applicable rules on the protection of personal data.
In the cases referred to in the first subparagraph, points (a) and (b), of this paragraph, the committee may request any relevant document or evidence from the Authority, the European Parliament, the European political party or European political foundation concerned, other political parties, political foundations or other stakeholders, and it may request to hear their representatives. In the case referred to in the first subparagraph, point (b), of this paragraph, the national supervisory authority referred to in Article 15 shall cooperate with the committee in accordance with applicable law.
In its opinions, the committee shall give full consideration to the fundamental right of freedom of association and to the need to ensure pluralism of political parties in Europe.
The opinions of the committee shall be made public without delay.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
