2019 European Elections: an evaluation of the political manifestos

A few hours away from the European Elections, Access Info invites for European citizens to elect their next representatives.  Because well informed voting is crucial for our future, we evaluated the electoral programs of five countries in which the representation is high, for their transparency in European Union activities. Among these countries are: France, Germany, Italy, Spain (only available in Spanish), and the United Kingdom.

The methodology used is as follows:

• Thematic Choice: A number of transparency-related topics have been evaluated. Transparency of decision making within the EU institutions and in the processes are two of them. Legislative initiative, transparency in algorithms, trialogues, and commitment to improve citizen participation have also been considered in the first section. Regarding expense management evaluations include commitments such as better financial resource management in the European Union, transparency in EU funds and public procurement procedures, and the inclusion of anti-corruption measures (protection of whistleblowers included). Lastly, on lobbying matters, commitments to reach an effective lobby register, restriction of their activities, influence, and ethical controls, and clear rules about revolving doors and interest management were assessed.
• Political Party Selection: Those who have obtained a majority vote in the past or those who have a tendency of receiving the most votes according to diverse polls.
• Rating: For each topic, a rating from 0 to 3 has been awarded. 0 means there is no mention and 0.5 that the party briefly mentions the topic; 1 that something on the issue has been proposed but remained very general; 2 that a number of commitments have been made, although with no reference to the means to achieve them; and 3 is a pledge to completely realise initiatives on the matter.