17th July 2024
A brief personal reflection on the recent EU elections and the implications for issues I care about: child rights, equality, inclusion and ivil society.
Post-European Parliament elections, the dominant narrative is ‘the Centre holds.’ The Centre-Right EPP gained 12 seats; the Centre-Left S&D lost 3 seats but remains the EP’s second-largest party. Although the Liberals (Renew) & the Greens lost seats, they’re still the preferred allies as Ursula Von der Leyen seeks her second term.
While the far-right surge didn’t materialize as some predicted, they are emboldened by the elections. Recent weeks’ scramble to form new political groups across the far-right is both alarming and slightly comical, as party leaders court each other while distancing themselves from those seen as ‘too extreme’. Many unsavory characters are entering the European Parliament this term, with salaries, assistants, & platforms from which to speak. Patriots for Europe has become the third-largest political group, which translates into more public financial support for far-right ideas generation and communication. Even if the ‘cordon sanitaire’ can prevent far-right MEPs from taking positions of power, they will wield significant influence.
Important political milestones were achieved during the last EU legislative cycle. The European Child Guarantee is taking root across the EU Member States. The EU Child Rights Strategy laid a framework for child participation and protection, recognizing children as rights-holders.
This momentum will be challenged over the next five years. Civil society and human rights defenders will come under increasing pressure. We’re likely to see a rising threat from an ‘un-civil society’ movement—organisations using superficially palatable language like human dignity and freedom of choice to promote an anti-LGBTQI, anti-child rights, anti-gender agenda. The ability of the EU institutions to defend its core values, as adopted in past Treaties and the Fundamental Rights Charter, has yet to be fully tested.