Source: European Parliament
The organisation and conduct of elections are the competence and responsibility of the Member States, in accordance with their national constitutional rules and legislation, as well as their international obligations and applicable EU law. National authorities and courts are primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with the applicable rules.
The Commission supports Member States on electoral matters, mainly through the framework of the European Coordination Network on Elections.
This brings together national authorities with competence in electoral matters and facilitates the exchanges of information and best practices.
Different EU rules are relevant in national electoral contexts within the EU. In particular, the new Regulation 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising[1], which will become fully applicable from October 2025, will increase transparency, address disinformation, and prevent funding of political advertisements from third country sponsors three months preceding elections.
In addition, in 2023, the Commission published a recommendation on inclusive and resilient electoral processes in the EU[2]. The Commission has also put forward a proposal for a directive on establishing harmonised requirements in the internal market on transparency of interest representation carried out on behalf of third countries.[3]