‘The European Union dictates most of the legislation of member states’, goes the popular argument that national governments and parties like to make against Bruxelles. But it's worth getting the facts straight.
On 9 June, Europeans will be voting to elect their next European Parliament. Data analysis by SWR Data Lab shows that the European Parliament is not as diverse as it could be.
In the run-up to the European Parliament elections, Europe's far-right parties are stronger than ever. On the one hand, this will probably mean that there will be more far-right MEPs in the next EP, but far right parties in their current form are too divided and disorganised to represent a real force.
Investigation by Noteworthy finds disabled people are significantly underrepresented, with little practical support given to improve participation.
Just three of the 705 current MEPs are under 30, with the European Parliament historically being seen as ‘a retirement place’ - and that's not likely to change soon.
One third of the people Spain and Italy naturalised in 2022 were born there to foreign parents. In these countries, as in most of the European Union, such children must apply for citizenship after several years of residence. Other countries, such as Germany, recognise them as citizens at birth if the child’s parents are legal residents.
According to their own transparency laws – which vary from state to state – European countries have a certain time limit within which the authorities must respond to requests for access to information submitted by citizens and civil society organisations. As pointed out by Civio, in practice, compliance with transparency laws is often insufficient
Writer, translator from Bosnian to Italian, Elvira Mujčić arrived in Italy when she was 14 years old, escaping the war. Today she is an Italian and Bosnian citizen: a long, almost Kafkaesque journey of dual citizenship that only the support of the community of the country that welcomed her has made more bearable.
European Union countries naturalised just 2.64% of their non-national population in 2022. The process is full of obstacles and often takes years.
In the last five-year term, both the proportion of women in the European Parliament and in relevant positions in European institutions have improved significantly. In contrast, the Hungarian government hold a negative record for the participation of female ministers: there are none. Hungary is also last in the EU when it comes to the percentage of women in parliament.
