Council approves new rules for greater transparency in the funding of European parties and foundations

The Council gave its final green light to changes to the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations.

This revision of the regulation is aimed at reinforcing the transparency of European political parties and strengthening the framework for their funding, in particular to counter the risks of manipulation and interference by foreign actors. It will also reduce the administrative burden and increase the visibility of EU political parties vis-à-vis EU citizens.

Main elements of the revised Regulation

The revised Regulation reinforces the transparency of the European political environment and the visibility of European political parties and European political foundations, as well as strengthening the EU’s ability to avoid the risk of foreign interference.

Increased visibility and transparency requirements

The new Regulation specifies the type of activities that European political parties may organise jointly with their member parties, in order to contribute to the formation of European political awareness. However, the new rules maintain the ban on European political parties and European political foundations funding national referendum campaigns. In addition, the Regulation includes strong measures on gender parity in parties.

Financial viability for European political parties and European political foundations

The revised Regulation harmonises the regimes for European political parties and European political foundations by setting the co-financing rate for obtaining European grants at 5% for both; it also ensures proper monitoring of the new accounting category linked to the financial income generated by the activities of European political parties and European political foundations (“self-financing resources”), and provides that this source of income will be limited to 3% of their annual budget in the case of European political parties and 5% for European political foundations.

Limiting the risk of foreign interference

The revised Regulation requires European political parties and European political foundations to submit a written declaration on the respect, both by themselves and by their members, of EU values, and provides that a new declaration must be submitted each time there is a change in membership. In addition, the new rules limit the risk of foreign interference by applying limitations to the new categories of “associate member parties” and “associate member organisations”. Furthermore, the revised Regulation prohibits quotas or contributions to European political parties and European political foundations from parties or organisations outside the EU, while maintaining the possibility for parties to continue to cooperate with their political partners beyond the borders of the EU. Finally, the Regulation introduces safeguards to ensure that members of European political parties and European political foundations are not subject to restrictive measures.

Next steps

Following today’s adoption, the legislative act will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in the next few days and will enter into force 20 days after publication.

Context

On 25 November 2021, the Commission adopted the package on democracy and integrity of European elections, which included a proposal for a recast of the Regulation on the statute and financing of European political parties and European political foundations. The package also included a legislative proposal on transparency and targeting of political advertising, adopted by the Council in March 2024, and two legislative proposals on the electoral rights of citizens residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals in European and municipal elections, as well as a communication announcing a common electoral resilience mechanism.

More information: European Council