PREAMBLE
According to the values enshrined in the Preamble of our Constitution, the European Union is dedicated to promoting democracy and good governance. As the primary legislative branch of the European Union, the European Council is the greatest bastion and gatekeeper of democracy and democratic decision-making in Europe. In order to therefore legitimize itself as a fully democratic institution, and to make itself accountable to the European people, the European Council shall become a democratically-elected body chosen directly by the people of the European Union.
SECTION I. DEMOCRATIZATION OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL
I. All members of the European Council, also known as Councillors, shall be directly and democratically elected to office by the people of their member state of origin.
I. II. The governments of European Union member states may not appoint or dismiss their Councillor without following an official democratic process outlined in this Act. if they accomplish with the following prerequisite mentioned in this Act.
SECTION II. PREREQUISITE TO AVOID COUNCILLOR ELECTION
I. Member states willing to avert councillor elections shall have stayed in the European Union for at least 12 months.
SECTION III. II. COUNCILLOR ELECTION PROCESSES
I. Councillors from new member states may only take may only (re)take their office within the European Council after satisfying a democratic processes in which all following conditions are met:
a) A state-wide election was held to specifically choose who would fill the position of Councillor;
b) The electorate directly voted for Councillor candidates on their ballot(s);
c) Suffrage was universal and equal to all citizens that were of the legal voting age;
d) The election process was generally seen as free and fair;
e) Candidates for Councillor were able to freely nominate themselves;
f) They successfully received the most votes at the end of the official voting process.
II. New member states shall be responsible for organizing, monitoring and fulfilling their own Councillor elections. New member states shall also be allowed to freely design and implement their own democratic procedures, rules and processes for electing their Councillor as long as all conditions for choosing a successful Councillor in Clause I of this Section are met.
III. Councillor elections must be regular and must occur at least once every four years.
III. IV. It is encouraged that member states elect their Councillor one month after they elect their national legislatures, or they elect their Councillor during the official European Council Election period.
SECTION IV. III. EUROPEAN COUNCIL ELECTION PERIOD
I. An official European Council Election period will be held simultaneously with the first European Commission election of each calendar year. This period shall simply serve as a coordinated effort to harmonize Councillor elections simultaneously between European Union member states and does not require mandatory observance.
SECTION IV. TERM LIMITS, VACANCIES AND BY-ELECTIONS
I. Councillors shall not face any term limits and may run for re-election an unlimited amount of times.
II. Councillors may be dismissed or recalled by their government. following a simple-majority vote in the highest-decision making body of that member state.
III. Should a Councillor resign, die, be dismissed, recalled or removed from office by any means, a by-election will automatically be triggered and must be held as quickly as feasibly possible to refill the vacant position if the member state doesn’t accomplish the prerequisites.
IV. By-elections must follow the exact same procedures, rules and processes as the original election that was previously held.
II. Until an election is conducted by new member states a temporary councillor may be appointed in order to avoid lack of representation for any country in the Council.
SECTION V. IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT
I. All incumbent Councillors who have currently been elected in a direct and democratic way shall be recognized as democratically elected to office.
II. All incumbent Councillors who have been appointed or indirectly elected by their government to office shall not be recognized as democratically elected, and an election for their position must be held within the next four years.
III. Any member state which violates any section of this Act, or any Councillor which continues to be unelected for four years, will be considered as having breached this Act and will have their Councillor suspended from the European Council by the European Court of Justice.
Councillors, today I'm submitting an amendment to the European and Accountable Council Act 2020. I think this act has been very controversial, and when we look back to the consequences of its approval here, in the European Council, we can see how one very important member state felt forced to leave the chamber, suffer a lack of representation because they were forced to held elections just because the European Union forced them. We, the European Councillors that are still here and, like me, were democratically elected and suffered the consequences of this act, made the Council look more democratical, but that doesn't mean we all liked this act. The European Union needs to move towards a new era in which we all feel confortable, and I hope you, Councillors, become part of the change we are just about to start in our region.
Donald Tusk
Deputy Speaker and Councillor for Spain
The Kingdom of Spain
