Defining an electoral campaign strategy of a political party that runs at the European Parliament elections

Defining an electoral campaign strategy of a political party that runs at the European Parliament elections

Bujoreanu Alexandra-ElenaSPE I

Table of ContentsEUROPEAN INTEGRATION ORIGINS2The formation of European Community2European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community3EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS4THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT5EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTs POLITICAL GROUPS. 4- 7 June 20096CAMPAIGN7BIBLIOGRAPHY10

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION ORIGINS

The European Idea developed between the two World Wars, also called, the interwar period with the purpose to allow the maintenance of world peace in Europe and perpetuating the European influence in the world. Before the so called birth of the European Union it existed legal cooperation organization on diverse fields like economic, military or politic which later on seemed to transform in something bigger.A first step was with Aristide Briands European Project officially presented to the League of Nations, ("Socit des Nations"). After the World War II the economic difficulties and the threat of a Cold War approaching managed to gather the European States together. In 19th September 1946 Winston Churchill, British Prime-Minister through his speech held at the University of Zurich invited the European States to join the United States of Europe having as fundament the reconciliation of France and Germany, which more or less meant a hypothetical scenario of unification of Europe as a single body. The plan seemed to look ambitious with the Marshall Plan as an option for the European states weakened by war but the states gathered in 1948 in a new organization of European Economic Cooperation, today the Organization for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) where the decisions were taken with unanimity.The Organization for European Economic Co-operation is considered to be the prelude of European Construction.In 1948 at Hague was organized an European Congress presided by Churchill where besides the creation of a Special Council it was also recommend the creation of a European Gather with deliberative power having as task to prepare the political and economic integration of the European States. It was also suggested to adopt a Charter of Human Rights in which for it to be applicable it was needed also a Court of Justice. And so The European infrastructure starts to grow with the creation of its each institution and their mechanism for a successful functioning. The European Congress proceeded to create the European Council with its permanent headquarters constantly created disputes between France and Germany, but as a final solution was chosen Strasbourg as being between the two states. The formation of European Community

France and Germany were powerful states at that time as the European Union had these two states as an economic basis for development. 9th May 1950 was an important point in history as it marked Robert Schumans proposal inspired by Jean Monet to create the European Community of Coal and Steel[footnoteRef:1]. Robert Schuman, French Minister of Foreign Affairs named the plan the Community Method which would gather the Coal and Steel resources from France and Germany from which the other European states could take if needed. These resources were not mistakenly been chosen, steel and coal were considered raw materials constituting the basis of industrial production but also raw materials for armament which was considered a key point at that period as a Cold War was threatening the Europe. [1: European Parliament Elections 2009 in academic research found online at 16.05.2015 http://polscieu.ideasoneurope.eu/2013/05/22/european-parliament-elections-2009-in-academic-research, ]

It was formally established by theTreaty of Paris (1951), which was signed byBelgium, France,West Germany,Italy, theNetherlandsandLuxembourg. The ECSC was the first international organization to be based on the principles ofsupranationalism,and would ultimately lead the way to the founding of theEuropean Union.The ECSC was first proposed by French foreign ministerRobert Schumanon 9 May 1950 as a way to prevent further war betweenFranceandGermany. He declared his aim was to "make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible"which was to be achieved by regional integration, of which the ECSC was the first step. The Treaty would create acommon marketforcoalandsteelamong its member states which served to neutralize competition between European nations over natural resources, particularly in theRuhr.The ECSC was run by four institutions: aHigh Authoritycomposed of independent appointees, a Common Assembly composed of national parliamentarians, a Special Council composed of nation ministers, and a Court of Justice. These would ultimately form the blueprint for today'sEuropean Commission,European Parliament, theCouncil of the European Unionand theEuropean Court of Justice.The ECSC was joined by two other similar communities in 1957, theEuropean Economic CommunityandEuropean Atomic Energy Community, with whom it shared its membership and someinstitutions. In 1967 all its institutions were merged with that of theEuropean Economic Community, but it retained its own independent legal personality. In 2002 the Treaty of Paris expired and all the ECSC activities and resources were absorbed by the European Community.

European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community

Seeing how ECCS[footnoteRef:2] succeeded determined its founders to expand the cooperation on another spheres. In those years past war the main objectives were security and raising the poor life conditions. [2: European law/decision making/treaties found online at 16.05.2015 http://europa.eu/eu-law/decision-making/treaties/index_ro.htm]

The 100-articleTreaty of Paris, which established the ECSC, was signed on 18 April 1951 by "theinner six": France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (Benelux). The ECSC was the first international organization to be based onsupranationalprinciplesand was, through the establishment of a common market for coal and steel, intended to expand the economies, increase employment, and raise the standard of living within the Community. The market was also intended to progressively rationalize the distribution of high level production whilst ensuring stability and employment. The common market for coal was opened on 10 February 1953, and for steel on 1 May 1953.Upon taking effect, the ECSC gradually replaced theInternational Authority for the Ruhr. [footnoteRef:3] [3: Gilmore, J., Moore, J. and Scott, D. (eds) (2013)Critique and Dissent: An anthology to mark 40 years of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control(Ottowa: Red Quill).]

On 11 August 1952, the United States was the first non-ECSC member to recognize the Community and stated it would now deal with the ECSC on coal and steel matters, establishing its delegation in Brussels. Monnet responded by choosing Washington, D. C.as the site of the ECSC's first external presence. The headline of the delegation's first bulletin read "Towards a Federal Government of Europe".Six years after the Treaty of Paris, theTreaties of Romewere signed by the six ECSC members, creating theEuropean Economic Community(EEC) and theEuropean Atomic Energy Community(EAEC or 'Euratom'). These Communities were based, with some adjustments, on the ECSC. The Treaties of Rome were to be in force indefinitely, unlike the Treaty of Paris, which was to expire after fifty years. These two new Communities worked on the creation of acustoms unionandpower community respectively.The Rome treaties were hurried through just before de Gaulle was given emergency powers and proclaimed theFifth Republic.Despite his efforts to 'chloroform' the Communities, their fields rapidly expanded and the EEC became the most important tool for political unification, overshadowing the ECSC.

EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS

The Union has an institutional framework aimed at defending its values, objectives and interests, the interests of its citizens and those of its Member States. This framework also contributes to ensuring the coherency, effectiveness and continuity of Community policies and actions.According to Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union, the institutional framework is composed of 7 institutions: the European Parliament; the European Council the Council of the European Union (simply called the Council); the European Commission; the Court of Justice of the European Union; the European Central Bank; the Court of Auditors.Each institution acts within the limits of their remit, granted in the Treaties in line with the procedures, conditions and purposes laid down therein.The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission are assisted by an Economic and Social Committee and a Committee of the Regions performing advisory functions[footnoteRef:4]. [4: Simon Hix,Christopher Lord, Political Parties in the European Union, Palgrave Macmillan,15 iun. 1997]

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

The European Parliament (EP) is the assembly of the representatives of the 500 million Union citizens. Since 1979 they have been elected by direct universal suffrage. The Lisbon Treaty set the total number of EP seats to 751. The number of MEPs per country is set by a European Council decision adopted unanimously on the EP proposal. No country may now have less than 6 or more than 96 MEPs.[footnoteRef:5] [5: Liesbet Hooghe,Gary Marks Multi-level Governance and European Integration, Rowman&Littlefield Publication]

The European Parliament's main functions are as follows:legislative power: in most cases Parliament shares the legislative power with the Council, in particular through the ordinary legislative procedure.budgetary power: Parliament shares budgetary powers with the Council in voting on the annual budget, rendering it enforceable through the President of Parliament's signature, and overseeing its implementationpower of control over the Union's institutions, in particular the Commission. Parliament can give or withhold approval for the designation of Commissioners and has the power to dismiss the Commission as a body by passing a motion of censure. It also exercises a power of control over the Union's activities through the written and oral questions it can put to the Commission and the Council. And it can set up temporary committees and committees of inquiry whose remit is not necessarily confined to the activities of European institutions but can extend to action taken by the Member States in implementing European policies.The Lisbon Treaty strengthens the role of the European Parliament by placing it on an equal footing with the Council of Ministers. Namely, the Lisbon Treaty:extends the ordinary legislative procedure (ordinary legislative procedure) to 40 new fields including agriculture, energy security, immigration, justice and home affairs, health and structural funds;reinforces the role of the Parliament in the adoption of the EU budget. The distinction between 'compulsory' and 'noncompulsory' expenditure is abandoned. The European Parliament is now responsible for the adoption of the entire budget together with the Council;enable MEPs to give their consent on a wide range of international agreements negotiated by the European Union such as international trade agreements;introduces new rights to be informed on the activities of the European Council, the rotating Council presidency and the Union's external action;gives the European Parliament the right to propose changes to the Treaty;improves its power of scrutiny by giving it the responsibility to elect the President of the Commission, and approve the Commission members by a vote of consent.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTs POLITICAL GROUPS. 4- 7 June 2009

European Parliamentarians organize themselves not on nationality basis but after political affinities. The political groups are not conventional political parties which compete during elections, but they are established for the internal function of the European Parliament. Elections to theEuropean Parliamentwere held in the 27 member states of the European Union(EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736Members of the European Parliament(MEPs) were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history. An additional 18observers("virtual MEPs") were (supposed to be) pre-elected. As political groups we can mention the following: European People's Party(EPP), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats(S&D), European Conservatives and Reformists(ECR), Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe(ALDE), European United LeftNordic Green Left(GUE-NGL),The GreensEuropean Free Alliance(GreensEFA), Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy(EFDD) and Non-Inscrits(NI). [footnoteRef:6] [6: David Scott Bell,Christopher Lord, Transnational Parties in the European Union, Ashgate1 ian. 1998]

The majority of MEPs were elected on Sunday 7 June, but because of traditional polling days varying from country to country according to local custom, some countries held their elections in the three preceding days: Thursday 4 June:United Kingdom(includingGibraltar),Netherlands(including Arubaand theNetherlands Antilles) Friday 5 June:Ireland,Czech Republic(day1) Saturday 6 June:Cyprus,France(for part ofOutre-mer), Italy(day1),Latvia,Malta,Slovakia, Czech Republic(day2) Sunday 7 June:Austria,Belgium,Bulgaria,Germany,Denmark,Spain,Estonia,Finland,France,Greece,Hungary, Italy(day2),Lithuania,Luxembourg,Poland,Portugal,Romania,Slovenia,SwedenIn seven EU member-states, other votes occurred alongside the elections to the European Parliament: ageneral electionin Luxembourg; local government elections in Latvia, part of theUnited Kingdom, parts of Germany, Italy,Malta, andIreland(as well as two by-elections inDublin SouthandDublin Central);regional electionsin Belgium; and areferendum on reforming the monarchical rules of successionin Denmark that would give women the same rights throughequal primogeniture.This was the first European Parliament election that Bulgaria and Romania participated in at the same time as the other member states. When they joined the EU in 2007, they held elections for MEPs outside the normal electoral calendar.CAMPAIGN

Many of the national parties running in the election are affiliated to transnational pan-European political parties known as political parties at European level. Those pan-European parties areEPP,PES,ELDR,EFA,European Greens,AEN,PEL,EDP andEUD. The question of which was the first to campaign transnationally is the subject of some debate, with theEuropean Greensstating that they were the first in 2004.New parties that aspire to pan-European status during the 2009 elections includeNewropeans,Europe United, Europe Democracy EsperantoandLibertas Party Limited. The role for pan-European political parties has been expanded by changes enacted by the European Commission in 2007 under the direction of Margot Wallstrm. Four incumbentEuropean Commissionerswill run as candidates in the election:Viviane Reding(Luxembourg,information society & media,Christian Social People's Party/EPP),Louis Michel(Belgium,development & humanitarian aid,Reformist Movement/ELDR),Danuta Hbner(Poland,regional policy,Civic Platform/EPP),Meglena Kuneva(Bulgaria,consumer protection,National Movement for Stability and Progress/ELDR).Jn Fige(Slovakia,education, training & culture,Christian Democratic Movement/EPP) was tipped to but ultimately did not run. He is bound to become the new chairman of his party instead. [footnoteRef:7] [7: Joachim Koops,Gjovalin Macaj , The European Union as a Diplomatic Actor, Palgrave Macmillan, November 2014]

Kuneva later decided not to take up her seat in the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) but especially where my attention was dragged to EUROPEAN PEOPLES PARTY- have tried to connect better with the potential electorate, offer more information about their work and opinion, and mobilise their supporters. Since then, the use of social media has developed and is becoming slightly more systematic among the MEPs. New communication and information technologies are transforming existing forms of political communication (Lilleker & Jackson, 2011) through the use of social media, that permits more interaction and communication between political actors and the audiences (Lilleker & Vedel, 2013). The relatively recent creation of Web 2.0, as a new form of Volume 10, Issue 1 May 2013 Page 433 interactive internet, gave new opportunities for politicians to reach out to audiences on social media websites, platforms and tools, designed to facilitate interpersonal interaction. However, not all countries, internet platforms or politicians use the same amount of interaction with their audiences, which was confirmed by the interviewees. At the same time, although some scholars (e.g. Papacharissi, 2006) argue that online political discussions promote greater citizen participation, it is questionable if the individuals who engage in participation on social media sites (through discussions, likes, forwarding content etc.) become more politically active offline i.e. if it can affect political participation and electoral turnout. That is one of the doubts, expressed both by scholars as well as politicians. Nevertheless, political leaders on the EU level agree that the penetration of the internet into peoples daily lives has brought about changes to their practices, in the sense that their communication and information habits and behaviours have changed. This is due to the ability to more rapidly gather, store and share large amounts of information; network with other politicians, party members and supporters; and to message citizens and others. The ability to establish personal connections with voters is the vast advantage of social media, but at the same time this makes individuals more responsible for their online presence and activities. Many EU parliamentarians started to realise the strength and power of social media as a new medium that could be used for political promotion, only after their presumable success in the 2008 US elections campaign. Parliamentarians and their advisers mostly think that social media can have an impact on the familiarity of European citizens with the EU and their elected representatives. For example, an interviewee noted that, if it is used in a proper way, Facebook can be an instrument of approach because it allows dialogue with citizens (MEP, personal communication, 1 March 2012). Many communication managers and advisors are very optimistic regarding its use, even believing that social media will take over from classical methods (communication manager, personal communication, 20 March 2012). They are considered to be absolutely indispensable (political advisor, personal communication, 1 March 2012) as they represent a very good way of communicating directly with a large audience. However, among the interviewees, the majority see the internet mostly as a supplement to traditional media and although admitting the importance of being online, they stick to television as the main media campaign: I think traditional media is still the most important, I have no doubt about this [] (political advisor, personal communication, 16 February 2012). Yet, European political actors do not completely neglect social media because they agree that online tools can be an important additional component. As one of them explained, There is a chance for more people to be informed (MEP, personal communication, 8 May 2012). This is especially true when it comes to young people and the possibility to attract them, taking into consideration that they are predominantly using social media in order to get information and interact with others: At the end a lot of young people are using it, so its a chance to winning a great public space for the election (MEP, personal communication, 8 May 2012).Two major sites that are distinguished in European politics are Facebook and Twitter. While Twitter offers a very short and direct outlet, Facebook is more informal and interactive. Therefore, the use of the two sites needs to be complementary. Many campaign managers and politicians agree that Twitter is the most relevant and useful in politics at the EU level. This is due to the fact that people on Twitter know more about the EU than the average EU citizen and they often have links to politics, either professionally or through personal interest. Also, as they have decided to follow politics and politicians by receiving regular tweets, they are considered to be much more informed. This group of people generally consists of journalists, bloggers, experts and political junkies, who are often opinion makers as well. At the same time, as discussed above, European politicians use online tools to inform citizens in the first place; Twitter seems like a logical first choice. Many of them use Facebook as well, but as it is considered to have more informal surroundings, politicians pay less attention to the comments of citizens. At the European level, a small minority use it for interacting with and engaging audiences.[footnoteRef:8] [8: Gilmore, J., Moore, J. and Scott, D. (eds) (2013)Critique and Dissent: An anthology to mark 40 years of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control(Ottowa: Red Quill).]

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