Riigikogu adopts amendment allowing for election of 7th MEP
The Riigikogu on Wednesday adopted an amendment with which the exact number of MEPs to be elected was struck from the European Parliament Election Act.
The law will refer to the number of MEPs to be elected in Estonia being set out in EU legislation.
According to previously valid legislation, Estonia elected six members to the European Parliament. According to the 28 June decision adopted by the European Council, however, Estonia will be gaining an extra seat on the European Parliament in 2019.
Should the UK's exit from the EU not have entered into force yet by the first day of the new term of the European Parliament following the May 2019 elections, six members as determined by the results of the election will head to the European Parliament. If and when the UK has exited the union, a seventh elected member will be added.
According to the amended law, the number of candidates for European Parliament per party may only exceed the number of MEPs to be elected by Estonia by two. Next spring, that means each party can nominate up to nine candidates. Previously, each party was able to nominate up to 12 candidates, or twice as many as Estonia had seats on the European Parliament.
Introduced by the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu, the amendments to the European Parliament Election Act were confirmed with 87 votes in the 101-seat Riigikogu.
The European Parliament election is scheduled to take place from 23-26 May 2019.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
