European Political Parties and Party Finance Reform: Funding Democracy?

✍ Scribed by Wouter Wolfs

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 316
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the party finance regime at the level of the European Union. Based on an in-depth analysis of the interaction between European political parties and their institutional environment, it shows how the Europarties have coped with – and altered – the funding rules. The book explains why increasing party subsidies have been made available, and why considerable differences exist in how Eurosceptic and pro-European parties have used their EU funding. It also examines how party finance reform at the EU level has been at the centre of party competition, by demonstrating how the rules were strategically changed to benefit some European parties over others. Considering the strong democratic aspirations that lay at the origins of the finance regime, the book explores its consequences for party democracy and the rule of law in Europe. This book is valuable for scholars working on the European Parliament, Eurosceptic parties, EU decision-making, (European) party politics and political finance.

✦ Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Contents
Acronyms
List of Graphs & Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction
1 The Sui Generis Nature of European Political Parties
2 Analytical Framework
3 Data
4 Structure
References
2 An Origin Story: Establishing Public Funding for European Political Parties
1 State of the Art: The Introduction of Public Funding for (European) Political Parties
2 The Process: The Long Road to Public Funding for European Political Parties
2.1 The Road to Maastricht: The First Step
2.2 The Road to Nice: A Clear Legal Basis for Funding
2.3 The Final Stretch Towards a European Party Finance Regulation
2.4 The Content of the Finance Regime for European Political Parties
3 The Narrative: Building Party Democracy at the European Level
4 Conclusion
References
3 Rising Subsidies and Creative Accounting: The Income of European Political Parties and Foundations
1 Previous Research and Contribution
2 A Revenue-Maximizing Strategy
2.1 Rising Public Funding for European Political Parties and Foundations
2.2 Setting the Europarty Budget: A Collaboration Between Parliamentary Administration and Main Political Groups
2.2.1 Procedure to Determine the Budget of the European Parliament
2.2.2 The Funding Sums for Europarties and Eurofoundations in the Internal Budget of the European Parliament
2.2.3 Actors Influencing the Total Funding Sums for European Political Parties and Foundations
2.3 The Benefits for the Four Established European Political Parties and Foundations
2.4 Motivation Behind the Growth of Funding
3 Growing Internal Budgetary Pressures
3.1 Regulatory Limitations on Public and Private Funding
3.2 Absorption Capacity and Matching Funds
3.3 Private Funding for European Political Parties and Foundations
3.4 Dubious Income Practices
3.4.1 Contributions In Kind: Inflated Income?
3.4.2 Donations to Buy Influence?
3.4.3 Contracts in Exchange for Donations: Quid Pro Quo?
4 Conclusion
References
4 Ghost Offices and Artificial Membership: Eurosceptic Involvement in the Funding Regime
1 Previous Research and Contribution
2 Euroscepticism: What’s in a Name?
3 Eurosceptic Attitude: From Principled Opposition to Strategic Pragmatism
3.1 Principled Opposition Against the Europarty (Funding) System
3.1.1 Fighting Europarty Funding in Court
3.1.2 Voting Against Europarty Funding
3.1.3 Speaking Against Europarty Funding
3.2 Strategic Pragmatism: Establishing European Political Parties
3.3 Motivation to Establish Eurosceptic European Political Parties
4 Eurosceptic Practice: Instrumentalization of European Political Parties
4.1 Budget Maximization
4.1.1 The Importance of Members of Parliament for European Political Parties
4.1.2 Types of Irregular Party Membership
4.1.3 The Practice of Irregular Party Membership
4.2 The Rise of Potemkin Parties
4.2.1 Ghost Offices of European Political Parties and Foundations
4.2.2 Support to National Member Parties
5 Conclusion
References
5 Changing the Rules of the Game: The Evolution of the Finance Regime
1 Previous Research and Contribution
2 The 2007 Reform: The Continuation of EU Democracy-Building
2.1 Political Foundations and Financial Flexibility to Foster More Versatile Europarties
2.2 The Decision-Making Process: Convincing the European Commission and Council of Ministers
3 The 2014 Reform: Legal Recognition and Stronger Control
3.1 Fostering the Institutionalization of European Political Parties and Foundations
3.2 A New Monitoring and Sanctioning Regime
3.3 Drawn-Out Negotiations to Find a Consensus
4 The 2018 Revision: Closing Loopholes or Supporting the Established Parties?
4.1 A Limited but Decisive Revision of the Funding Rules
4.2 A Swift Agreement After a Long Preparation
5 The 2019 Revision: Safeguarding the Electoral Process
6 Monitoring Compliance with Respect for the EU’s Fundamental Values: A Difficult Exercise
6.1 The Design of the Values Compliance Mechanism
6.2 The Practical Application of the Values Compliance Mechanism
6.2.1 Verifying Compliance of Far-Right European Political Parties and Foundations
6.2.2 Verifying Compliance of Mainstream European Political Parties and Foundations
7 Conclusion
References
6 The Regulatory Straitjacket: The Impact on the Functioning of European Political Parties
1 Previous Research and Contribution
2 The Expansion and Solidification of the European Party System
2.1 A Growing Number of European Political Parties and Foundations (2004–2017)
2.2 Towards a Petrification of the European Party System? (2018–…)5
3 The Organization of European Political Parties and Foundations
3.1 Relations with the Political Groups in the European Parliament
3.2 Professionalization of the Europarty Organizations
3.3 The Consolidation of European Political Parties as Umbrella Organizations of National Member Parties19
4 The Limits of Transnational Campaigns
5 Conclusion
References
7 Conclusions: Funding Democracy?
1 European Political Parties and Party Finance Reform
2 European Political Parties as Vehicles for EU Democracy?
References
List of Interviews
Index