LegalizeRegulation (EU, Euratom) 2025/2445 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2025 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (recast)
REGULATION (EU, Euratom) 2025/2445 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 26 November 2025 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations (recast)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 224 thereof,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 106a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors (3),
Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (4),
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (5) has been substantially amended several times (6). Since further amendments are to be made, that Regulation should be recast in the interests of clarity.
(2) Article 10(4) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness and to expressing the will of citizens of the Union. Article 12(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’) also states that such political parties contribute to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union.
(3) Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) lays down that, in all its activities, the Union is to aim to eliminate inequalities, and to promote equality, between men and women.
(4) Article 11(1) of the Charter states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. Article 12(1) of the Charter states that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association at all levels, in particular in political, trade union and civic matters. Those rights are fundamental rights of every citizen of the Union.
(5) Article 21 of the Charter prohibits, inter alia, any discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation.
(6) In order for citizens of the Union to be able to participate fully in the democratic life of the Union, measures should be taken to ensure that they are able to use those rights.
(7) Thanks to the way in which they are able to bridge the gap between politics at national level and at Union level, truly transnational European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations have a key role to play in articulating the voices of citizens at European level.
(8) European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations should be encouraged and assisted in their efforts to provide a strong link between European civil society and the institutions of the Union, in particular the European Parliament.
(9) In recognition of the role attributed to European political parties by the TEU and in order to facilitate their work, it is necessary to create a specific European legal status for European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations.
(10) The Authority for European political parties and foundations (the ‘Authority’) is a body of the Union within the meaning of Article 263 of the TFEU whose purpose is to register, control and impose sanctions on European political parties and European political foundations. Registration should be required in order to obtain European legal status, which entails a series of rights and obligations. To avoid any possible conflict of interests, the Authority should be independent.
(11) It is necessary to lay down the procedures to be followed by European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations in order to obtain European legal status pursuant to this Regulation. It is likewise necessary to lay down the procedures and criteria to be respected when deciding whether to grant such European legal status. It is also necessary to lay down the procedures for cases in which a European political party or a European political foundation forfeits, loses or gives up its European legal status.
(12) In order to facilitate the oversight of legal entities that will be subject to both Union and national law, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the functioning of a register of European political parties and foundations to be managed by the Authority (the ‘Register’), and, in particular, as regards the information and supporting documents held in the Register. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (7). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(13) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards provisions on the registration number system and on standard extracts to be made available from the Register by the Authority to third parties upon request. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (8).
(14) European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations wishing to obtain recognition as such at Union level, by virtue of being given European legal status, and to receive public funding from the general budget of the Union should respect certain principles and fulfil certain conditions. In particular, it is necessary for European political parties, their affiliated European political foundations and their respective members to observe the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU. European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations should also ensure that their member parties and member organisations observe those values.
(15) The partners with which European political foundations can cooperate include universities, NGOs, training institutes, research partners and think tanks (‘cooperation partners’).
(16) When deciding whether to register a European political party or a European political foundation, in order to ascertain whether it complies with its obligations to observe the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, and whether it ensures that its members observe such values, the Authority should rely on a standard formal declaration to be issued by the European political party or European political foundation by using a template established by this Regulation.
(17) Decisions to remove a European political party or a European political foundation from the Register on the ground of non-compliance with the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, should be taken only in the event of a manifest and serious breach of those values. When taking such a decision, the Authority should fully respect the Charter.
(18) In order to protect the financial interests of the Union, decisions to remove a European political party or a European political foundation from the Register should take effect upon notification.
(19) The statutes of a European political party or a European political foundation should contain a series of basic provisions. Member States should be allowed to impose additional requirements for the statutes of European political parties and European political foundations which have established their seat on their respective territories, provided those additional requirements are not inconsistent with this Regulation.
(20) The Authority should regularly verify that the conditions and requirements relating to the registration of European political parties and European political foundations continue to be met. Decisions relating to the respect for the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, should only be taken in accordance with a specific procedure, following consultation of the committee of independent eminent persons established by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014.
(21) The independence and transparency of the committee of independent eminent persons should be guaranteed.
(22) The unlawful use of personal data can expose democracies and electoral processes to potential risks. It is therefore necessary to protect the integrity of the European democratic process by providing for financial sanctions in situations where European political parties or European political foundations take advantage of infringements of rules on protection of personal data with a view to influencing the outcome of elections to the European Parliament.
(23) To that end, a verification procedure should be established whereby the Authority is required, in certain circumstances, to ask the committee of independent eminent persons to assess whether a European political party or a European political foundation has deliberately influenced or attempted to influence the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of an infringement of the applicable rules on protection of personal data. Where that is found to be the case, the Authority should impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive financial sanctions.
(24) Where the Authority imposes a sanction on a European political party or foundation in accordance with the verification procedure, it should take due account of the ne bis in idem principle, according to which sanctions cannot be imposed twice for the same offence. The Authority should also ensure that the principle of legal certainty is respected and that the European political party or European political foundation concerned has been given the opportunity to be heard.
(25) Since the verification procedure is triggered by a decision of a competent national data protection supervisory authority, it should be possible for the European political party or European political foundation concerned to request that the financial sanction be reviewed if the decision of the national supervisory authority is repealed, or a remedy against that decision has been granted, once all national remedies have been exhausted.
(26) The European legal status granted to European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations should provide them with legal capacity and legal recognition in all the Member States. Such legal capacity and legal recognition do not entitle them to nominate candidates in national elections or elections to the European Parliament or to participate in referendum campaigns. That, and any similar entitlement, remains within the competence of Member States.
(27) The activities of European political parties and European political foundations should be governed by this Regulation. For other matters outside the scope of this Regulation, the relevant provisions of national law apply. The legal status of a European political party or of a European political foundation should be governed by this Regulation and by the applicable provisions of national law in the Member State where it has its seat (‘Member State of the seat’). The Member State of the seat should be able to define ex ante the applicable law or to leave optionality for European political parties and European political foundations. The Member State of the seat should also be able to impose requirements other than, or additional to, those laid down in this Regulation, including provisions on the registration and integration of European political parties and foundations as such into national administrative and control systems and on their organisation and statutes, including on liability, provided that such provisions are not inconsistent with this Regulation.
(28) As a key element of possessing European legal status, European political parties and European political foundations should have European legal personality. The acquisition of European legal personality should be subject to requirements and procedures to protect the interests of the Member State of the seat, of the applicant for European legal status (the ‘applicant’) and of any third parties concerned. In particular, any pre-existing national legal personality should be converted into European legal personality and any individual rights and obligations that have accrued to the former national legal entity should be transferred to the new European legal entity. Moreover, in order to facilitate the continuity of activity, safeguards should be put in place to prevent the Member State concerned from applying prohibitive conditions to such conversions. The Member State of the seat should be able to specify which types of national legal persons may be converted into European legal persons, and to withhold its agreement to the acquisition of European legal personality under this Regulation until adequate guarantees are provided, and in particular, adequate guarantees of the legality of the applicant’s statutes under the laws of that Member State or for the protection of creditors or holders of other rights in respect of any pre-existing national legal personality.
(29) The termination of European legal personality should be subject to requirements and procedures to protect the interests of the Union, of the Member State of the seat, of the European political party or European political foundation and of any third parties concerned. In particular, if the European political party or European political foundation acquires legal personality under the law of the Member State of its seat, this should be considered to operate as a conversion of its European legal personality and any individual rights and obligations that the former European legal entity has acquired or incurred should be transferred to the national legal entity. Moreover, in order to facilitate continuity of activity, safeguards should be put in place to prevent the Member State concerned from applying prohibitive conditions to such conversions. If the European political party or European political foundation does not acquire legal personality in the Member State of its seat, it should be wound up in accordance with the law of that Member State and in accordance with the condition requiring it not to pursue a profit goal. The Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament should be able to agree detailed arrangements with the Member State concerned regarding the termination of the European legal personality, in particular in order to ensure the recovery of funds received from the general budget of the Union and any financial sanctions.
(30) If a European political party or a European political foundation seriously fails to comply with relevant national law and if the matter relates to elements affecting respect for the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, the Authority should decide, upon request by the Member State concerned, to apply the procedures laid down by this Regulation. Moreover, the Authority should decide, upon request from the Member State of the seat, to remove from the Register a European political party or European political foundation which has seriously failed to comply with relevant national law on any other matter.
(31) Eligibility for funding from the general budget of the Union should be limited to European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations that have been recognised as such and that have obtained European legal status. While it is crucial to ensure that the eligibility conditions for becoming a European political party are not excessive and can readily be met by organised and serious transnational alliances of political parties or natural persons or both, it is also necessary to lay down proportionate criteria in order to allocate limited resources from the general budget of the Union. Those criteria should objectively reflect the European ambition and genuine electoral support of a European political party. Such criteria are best based on the outcome of elections to the European Parliament, in which the European political parties or their members are required to participate under this Regulation, providing a precise indication of the electoral recognition of a European political party. The criteria should reflect the European Parliament’s role of directly representing the citizens of the Union, assigned to it by Article 10(2) TEU, as well as the objective for European political parties to participate fully in the democratic life of the Union and to become actors in Europe’s representative democracy, in order effectively to express the views, opinions and political will of the citizens of the Union. Eligibility for funding from the general budget of the Union should therefore be limited to European political parties that are represented in the European Parliament by at least one of their members and to European political foundations which apply for such funding through a European political party that is represented in the European Parliament by at least one of its members.
(32) For reasons of transparency and in order to strengthen the scrutiny and the democratic accountability of European political parties, access to funding from the general budget of the Union should be made conditional on the provision of certain information. In particular, European political parties should ensure that their member parties publish, in a clearly visible and user-friendly manner, the political programme and display the logo of the European political party concerned. The logo should be located in the top section of the homepage of the member party’s website.
(33) European political parties and European political foundations should lead by example in closing the gender gap in the political domain. Their governing bodies should therefore be gender balanced. European political parties and European political foundations should have internal rules in place promoting gender balance, encouraging active participation of women in all their activities, and should invite their member parties to do the same. In addition, European political parties should be transparent about the gender representation of their member parties and should provide evidence on their member parties’ gender representation as regards candidates to and members of the European Parliament. The European political parties are encouraged to provide information in relation to their member parties’ on inclusiveness and representation of minorities.
(34) European political parties and European political foundations should promote an internal work environment of fair treatment and equal opportunities. To that end, European political parties and European political foundations should put in place a protocol in their internal rules in order to prevent, detect and work continuously against sexual harassment, as well as discrimination on the basis of gender.
(35) In order to increase the transparency of European political party funding, and to avoid potential abuse of the funding rules, a member of the European Parliament should, for the purposes of funding only, be regarded as a member of only one European political party. That European political party should, where relevant, be the one to which their his or her national or regional political party is affiliated on the final date for the submission of applications for funding.
(36) The procedures to be followed by European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations when they apply for funding from the general budget of the Union should be laid down, as well as the procedures, criteria and rules to be respected when deciding on the grant of such funding. In that context, the European political parties and foundations should in particular comply with the principle of sound financial management.
(37) In order to address the difficulties that European political parties, in particular small ones, face in achieving the 10 % co-financing rate required by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014, the co-financing rate for European political parties should be reduced to 5 %, in line with the rate for European political foundations.
(38) In order to enhance the independence, accountability and responsibility of European political parties and European political foundations, certain types of donations and contributions from sources other than the general budget of the Union should be prohibited or subject to limitations. Any restriction on free movement of capital which such limitations might entail is to be justified on grounds of public policy and is to be strictly necessary for the attainment of those objectives.
(39) A due diligence mechanism should be introduced to improve the transparency of large donations and to minimise the risk of foreign interference from this source. To that end, European political parties and European political foundations should request detailed identification information from their donors. The Authority should be able to request additional information from donors where it has grounds to believe that a donation has been granted in breach of this Regulation.
(40) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 acknowledges only two categories of revenue for European political parties and foundations apart from contributions from the budget of the Union, namely contributions from members and donations. A number of revenue sources arising from own economic activities carried out within the framework of their political activities, such as sales of publications or conference fees, fall outside the scope of those two categories, creating accounting and transparency problems. A third category of revenue (‘self-generated resources’) should therefore be created. In order to avoid the percentage of self-generated resources in the total budget of a European political party becoming disproportionate in relation to the overall budget of these entities, it should be capped at 3 %. In the case of a European political foundation that percentage should be capped at 5 %.
(41) In order to reach out to their members and constituencies across the Union, European political parties should have the right to use their funding for campaigns in the context of elections to the European Parliament. The funding and limitation of election expenses for parties and candidates in those campaigns should be governed by the rules applicable in each Member State.
(42) In order to help raise the European political awareness of citizens and to promote the transparency of political affiliation, European political parties may inform citizens of the ties between them and their affiliated national political parties and candidates.
(43) European political parties should not fund, directly or indirectly, other political parties and, in particular, national parties or candidates. European political foundations should not fund, directly or indirectly, European or national political parties or candidates or other foundations. The prohibition of indirect funding should however not prevent European political parties and European political foundations from supporting and engaging with their member parties and member organisations, including through joint European political activities. Moreover, European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations should not finance referendum campaigns.
(44) Joint European political activities, including activities in which participation is limited to the members of the European political party, and of its member parties, and to the members of the European political foundation, and of its member organisations, such as training sessions and workshops, should contribute to forming European political awareness and to expressing the political will of citizens of the Union.
(45) European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations should be allowed to continue to cooperate with political partners in third countries, notably with a view to promoting Union values.
(46) According to Article 8(1) TEU, the Union is to develop a special relationship with neighbouring countries, aiming to establish an area of prosperity and good neighbourliness, founded on the values of the Union and characterised by close and peaceful relations based on cooperation. European political parties and European political foundations play an important role in fostering that goal in their political work and relationships with parties in third countries. The statutes of a European political party or a European political foundation could allow for membership of political parties and organisations from third countries. This should however be limited to countries that have a closer and special relationship with the Union, namely members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), former Member States, candidate countries, countries entitled to use the euro as their official currency on the basis of a monetary agreement with the Union, partner countries that have a stabilisation and association agreement with the Union as well as European countries with whom the Union has concluded Association Agreements establishing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. Such parties or organisations could be granted the possibility of a more formalised and structured cooperation with European political parties and European political foundations through associated membership. Associated member parties and organisations should be able to play an active role, contributing to and participating in the inner life of a European political party and foundation, for example through the right of initiative or membership of governing bodies and attending and participating in meetings and other activities, including meetings of the governing bodies and performing joint outreach activities and events. Associated member organisations should also have the right to participate in research projects. In order to counter the risk of foreign interference, European political parties and European political foundations allowing for associated membership should ensure that their statutes provide adequate safeguards against foreign interference. In particular, European political parties allowing for associated membership should ensure that all votes gather the support of a majority of members which have their seat in the Union or who are citizens of the Union in order to pass. Votes cast by associated member parties should not be decisive towards a majority. Associated members parties should also not be able to individually or collectively impose a course of action against, or block, a majority of the voting of citizens of the Union. Representatives of associated member parties should not receive executive power by delegation in the governing bodies.
(47) Specific rules and procedures should be laid down for distributing the appropriations available each year from the general budget of the Union, taking into account, on the one hand, the number of beneficiaries and, on the other hand, the share of elected members in the European Parliament of each beneficiary European political party and, by extension, its respective affiliated European political foundation. Those rules should provide for strict transparency, accounting, auditing and financial control of European political parties and their affiliated European political foundations, as well as for the imposition of proportionate sanctions, including in the event of a breach by a European political party or a European political foundation of the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU.
(48) In order to ensure compliance with the obligations laid down by this Regulation regarding the funding and expenditure of European political parties and European political foundations and regarding other matters, it is necessary to provide for effective control mechanisms. To that end, the Authority, the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament and the Member States should cooperate and exchange all necessary information. Mutual cooperation amongst Member States’ authorities should be also encouraged in order to ensure the effective and efficient control of obligations stemming from applicable national law.
(49) With a view to increasing legal certainty provided by this Regulation and to ensuring its coherent implementation, the Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament should cooperate closely, including through regular exchanges of views and of information on the interpretation and concrete application of this Regulation. In addition, in full respect of the independence of the Authority, cooperation between the Authority, the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament and European political parties and European political foundations should facilitate the correct implementation of this Regulation by the European political parties and European political foundations and prevent legal disputes. The obligation of the Authority to hear European political parties or European political foundations before taking any decisions having adversary effects should also help facilitate the correct implementation of this Regulation by the European political parties and European political foundations and, at the same time, help prevent legal disputes.
(50) It is necessary to provide for a clear, dissuasive and proportionate system of sanctions in order to ensure effective, proportionate and uniform compliance with the obligations regarding the activities of European political parties and European political foundations. Such a system should also respect the ne bis in idem principle according to which sanctions cannot be imposed twice for the same offence. It is also necessary to define the respective roles of the Authority and of the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament in controlling and verifying compliance with this Regulation as well as the mechanisms for the cooperation between them and the Member States’ authorities.
(51) For reasons of transparency, and in order to strengthen the scrutiny and the democratic accountability of European political parties and European political foundations, information considered to be of substantial public interest, relating in particular to their statutes, membership, financial statements, donors and donations, contributions and grants received from the general budget of the Union, as well as information relating to decisions taken by the Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament on registration, funding and sanctions, should be published in a user-friendly, open and machine readable format. Laying down a regulatory framework to ensure that such information is publicly available is the most effective means of promoting a level playing field and fair competition between political forces, and of upholding open, transparent and democratic legislative and electoral processes, thereby strengthening the trust of citizens and voters in European representative democracy and, more broadly, preventing corruption and abuses of power.
(52) In compliance with the principle of proportionality, the obligation to publish the identity of donors who are natural persons should not apply to donations equal to or below EUR 1 500 per year and per donor. Furthermore, that obligation should not apply to donations the annual value of which exceeds EUR 1 500 and is below or equal to EUR 3 000 unless the donor has given prior written consent to the publication. Those thresholds strike an appropriate balance between, on the one hand, the fundamental right to the protection of personal data and, on the other hand, the legitimate public interest in transparency regarding the funding of European political parties and European political foundations, as reflected in international recommendations to avoid corruption in relation to the funding of political parties and foundations. The disclosure of donations exceeding EUR 3 000 per year and per donor should enable effective public scrutiny and control over the relations between donors and European political parties. Also in compliance with the principle of proportionality, information on donations should be published annually, except during election campaigns to the European Parliament or for donations exceeding EUR 12 000, in which case, publication should take place expeditiously.
(53) This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles enshrined in the Charter, in particular Article 7, which states, inter alia, that everyone has the right to respect for his or her private life and Article 8, which states that everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her. It is imperative that this Regulation be implemented in full respect of those rights and principles.
(54) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9) applies to the processing of personal data carried out by the Authority, the European Parliament and the committee of independent eminent persons in application of this Regulation.
(55) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) applies to the processing of personal data carried out in application of this Regulation.
(56) For the sake of legal certainty, it is appropriate to clarify that the Authority, the European Parliament, the European political parties and European political foundations, the national authorities competent to exercise control over aspects related to the financing of European political parties and European political foundations, and other relevant third parties referred to or provided for in this Regulation are data controllers within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 or Regulation (EU) 2016/679. It is also necessary to specify the maximum period for which they may retain personal data collected for the purposes of ensuring the legality, regularity and transparency of the funding of European political parties and European political foundations and the membership of European political parties. In their capacity as data controllers, the Authority, the European Parliament, the European political parties and European political foundations, the competent national authorities and the relevant third parties must take all appropriate measures to comply with the obligations imposed by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 or Regulation (EU) 2016/679, in particular those relating to the lawfulness of the processing, the security of the processing activities, the provision of information, and the rights of data subjects to have access to their personal data and to procure the correction and erasure of their personal data.
(57) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 applies to data processing carried out in application of this Regulation. The competent national authorities or relevant third parties should be liable in accordance with applicable national law for any damage that they cause. In addition, Member States should ensure that appropriate sanctions are imposed on competent national authorities or relevant third parties that infringe this Regulation.
(58) Technical support afforded by the European Parliament to European political parties should be guided by the principle of equal treatment, should be supplied against invoice and payment and should be subject to a regular public report.
(59) Key information on the application of this Regulation should be available to the public on a dedicated website.
(60) Judicial control by the Court of Justice of the European Union will help to ensure the correct application of this Regulation. Provision should also be made to allow European political parties or European political foundations to be heard and to take corrective measures before a sanction is imposed on them.
(61) Member States should ensure that national provisions conducive to the effective application of this Regulation are in place.
(62) European political parties and European political foundations should be given sufficient time to adopt provisions to ensure the smooth and effective application of this Regulation. Provision should therefore be made for a transitional period between the entry into force of this Regulation and the application of some of its articles,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation lays down the conditions governing the statute and funding of political parties at European level (‘European political parties’) and political foundations at European level (‘European political foundations’).
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
(2) ‘associated member party’ means a party that has its seat in an EFTA country, in a former Member State, in a candidate country, in a country entitled to use the euro as its official currency on the basis of a monetary agreement with the Union, in a partner country that has a stabilisation and association agreement with the Union (11) or in a European country with which the Union has concluded an Association Agreement establishing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area;
(3) ‘political alliance’ means structured cooperation, irrespective of its form, between members, whether political parties (‘member parties from the Union’), citizens of the Union, and, where applicable, associated member parties; member parties from the Union and associated member parties together shall be referred to as ‘member parties’;
(4) ‘European political party’ means a political alliance which pursues political objectives, aims to pursue those objectives across the Union and is registered with the Authority for European political parties and foundations referred to in Article 8, in accordance with this Regulation;
(5) ‘associated member organisation’ means an organisation that has its seat in an EFTA country, in a former Member State, in a candidate country, in a country entitled to use the euro as its official currency on the basis of a monetary agreement with the Union, in a partner country that has a stabilisation and association agreement with the Union (12) or in a European country with which the Union has concluded an Association Agreement establishing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area; member organisations having their seat in the Union (‘member organisations from the Union’) and associated member organisations together shall be referred to as ‘member organisations’;
(7) ‘regional parliament’ or ‘regional assembly’ means a body whose members either hold a regional electoral mandate or are politically accountable to an elected assembly;
(8) ‘funding from the general budget of the Union’ means a grant awarded in accordance with Title VIII or a contribution awarded in accordance with Title XI of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council (13);
(9) ‘donation’ means any financial transfer, any offering in kind, the provision below market value of any goods, services, including loans, or works, or any other transaction which constitutes an economic advantage for the European political party or the European political foundation concerned, with the exception of contributions, self-generated resources and usual political activities carried out on a voluntary basis by individuals;
(10) ‘contribution’ means any payment in cash, including membership fees, or any contribution in kind, the provision below market value of any goods, services, including loans, or works, or any other transaction which constitutes an economic advantage for the European political party or the European political foundation concerned, when provided to that European political party or to that European political foundation by one of its members, whether member parties from the Union, member organisations from the Union or citizens of the Union, with the exception of usual political activities carried out on a voluntary basis by individual members;
(11) ‘self-generated resources’ means income generated by non-profit-oriented own economic activities in the framework of the political activities exercised by a European political party or its affiliated European political foundation, carried out either individually or jointly with its members, such as participation fees for conferences and workshops, or sales of publications;
(12) ‘indirect funding’ means funding from which the member party or member organisation derives a financial advantage, even where no funds are directly transferred; these are cases which allow the member party or member organisation to avoid expenditure which it would otherwise have had to incur for activities that are organised for its own and sole benefit but exclude joint European political activities;
(13) ‘joint European political activities’ means activities organised by the European political party or European political foundation jointly with one or more member parties or member organisations where they concern activities in one or more Member States that contribute to forming European political awareness and expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union, as long as the involvement of the European political party or European political foundation is clearly visible, the level of ownership of the activity by the European political party or European political foundation is clear and the financial contribution of the European political party or European political foundation corresponds to the overall level of involvement of the European political party or European political foundation compared to the involvement of the member parties or member organisations concerned;
(14) ‘annual budget’ for the purposes of Articles 25 and 32 means the total amount of expenditure in a given year as reported in the annual financial statements of the European political party or of the European political foundation concerned;
(15) ‘National Contact Point’ means any person specifically designated by the relevant authorities in the Member States for the purpose of exchanging information pursuant to this Regulation;
(16) ‘seat’ means, unless otherwise specified in this Regulation, the location where the European political party or the European political foundation has its central administration;
(17) ‘concurrent infringements’ means two or more infringements committed as part of the same unlawful act;
(18) ‘repeated infringement’ means an infringement committed within five years of a sanction having been imposed on its perpetrator for the same type of infringement.
CHAPTER II
STATUTE FOR EUROPEAN POLITICAL PARTIES AND EUROPEAN POLITICAL FOUNDATIONS
Article 3
Conditions for registration
A political alliance may apply to register as a European political party subject to the following conditions:
(a) it has its seat in a Member State as indicated in its statutes;
(c) its member parties are not members of another European political party;
(d) it observes, in particular in its programme and in its activities, the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, namely respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(e) it ensures that its member parties observe, in particular in their programmes and activities, the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(f) it ensures that its member parties or their individual members are not subject to restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215(2) TFEU;
(g) it or its members have participated in elections to the European Parliament, or have expressed publicly their intention to participate in the next elections to the European Parliament;
(h) it does not pursue profit goals.
An entity shall be entitled to apply to register as a European political foundation, subject to the following conditions:
(a) it is affiliated with a European political party registered in accordance with this Regulation;
(b) it has its seat in a Member State as indicated in its statutes;
(c) it observes, in particular in its programme and in its activities, the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, namely respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(d) it ensures that its member organisations observe the values set out in Article 2 TEU, and it provides a standard formal declaration to that effect using the template set out in Annex I of this Regulation;
(e) it ensures that its member organisations or their individual members, are not subject to restrictive measures adopted pursuant to Article 215(2) TFEU;
(f) its objectives complement the objectives of the European political party with which it is formally affiliated;
(g) its governing body is composed of members from at least one quarter of the Member States;
(h) it does not pursue profit goals.
A European political party may have only one formally affiliated European political foundation. Each European political party and the affiliated European political foundation shall ensure a separation between their respective day-to-day management, governing structures and financial accounts.
Article 4
Governance of European political parties
The statutes of a European political party shall comply with the applicable law of the Member State in which it has its seat and shall include provisions covering at least the following:
(a) its name and logo, which shall be clearly distinguishable from those of any existing European political party or European political foundation;
(b) the address of its seat;
(c) a political programme setting out its purpose and objectives;
(d) a statement, in accordance with Article 3(1), point (h), that it does not pursue profit goals;
(e) where relevant, the name of its affiliated European political foundation and a description of the formal relationship between them;
(f) its administrative and financial organisation and procedures, specifying in particular the bodies and offices holding the powers of administrative, financial and legal representation and the rules on the establishment, approval and verification of annual accounts;
(g) the internal procedure to be followed in the event of its voluntary dissolution as a European political party;
(h) its internal rules regarding gender balance.
The statutes of a European political party shall include provisions on internal party organisation covering at least the following:
(a) the detailed arrangements for the admission, resignation and exclusion of its members, the list of its member parties being annexed to the statutes;
(b) the rights and duties associated with all types of membership and the relevant voting rights;
(c) the powers, responsibilities and composition of its governing bodies, specifying for each the criteria for the selection of candidates and the detailed arrangements for their appointment and dismissal;
(d) its internal decision-making processes, in particular the voting procedures and quorum requirements;
(e) its approach to transparency, in particular in relation to bookkeeping, accounts and donations, privacy and the protection of personal data;
(f) the internal procedure for amending its statutes.
The statutes of a European political party shall ensure that:
(a) all votes shall gather the support of a majority of members who have their seat in, or are citizens of, the Union in order to pass;
(b) votes cast by associated member parties shall not be decisive towards a majority;
(c) furthermore, associated member parties cannot, individually or collectively, impose a course of action against, or block, a majority of the voting citizens of the Union or members of the European political party concerned;
(d) representatives of associated member parties cannot receive executive powers by delegation in the governing bodies.
The Member State of the seat may impose additional requirements for the statutes, provided that those additional requirements are not inconsistent with this Regulation.
Article 5
Transparency obligations with regard to use of logos, publication of political programme and gender balance
Each European political party shall ensure that its member parties publish on their website the political programme of the European political party and display the logo of the European political party on their website. The logo of the European political party shall be displayed in the top section of the member party’s homepage, in a clearly visible manner.
Each European political party shall publish on its website information on the gender balance among the candidates in the elections to the European Parliament that take place after 28 December 2025, along with updated information on gender representation among their members of the European Parliament.
Each European political party shall ensure that its member parties from the Union publish on their websites information on the gender balance among their respective candidates in elections to the European Parliament and the gender representation among their respective members of the European Parliament.
Article 6
Governance of European political foundations
The statutes of a European political foundation shall comply with the applicable law of the Member State in which it has its seat and shall include provisions covering at least the following:
(a) its name and logo, which shall be clearly distinguishable from those of any existing European political party or European political foundation;
(b) the address of its seat;
(c) a description of its purpose and objectives, which shall be compatible with the tasks listed in Article 2, point (6);
(d) a statement, in accordance with Article 3(2), point (h), that it does not pursue profit goals;
(e) the name of the European political party with which it is directly affiliated, and a description of the formal relationship between them;
(f) a list of its bodies, specifying for each its powers, responsibilities and composition, and including the detailed arrangements for the appointment and dismissal of the members and managers of such bodies;
(g) its administrative and financial organisation and procedures, specifying in particular the bodies and offices holding the powers of administrative, financial and legal representation and the rules on the establishment, approval and verification of annual accounts;
(h) the internal procedure for amending its statutes;
(i) the internal procedure to be followed in the event of its voluntary dissolution as a European political foundation;
(j) its internal rules regarding gender balance;
(k) the rules regulating the rights and obligations of associated member organisations in the governance structures and in the decision making processes of the European political foundation ensuring adequate safeguards against foreign interference and preventing that associated member organisations impose a course of action or block a majority of the members from the Union.
The Member State of the seat may impose additional requirements for the statutes, provided that those additional requirements are not inconsistent with this Regulation.
Article 7
Requirements for gender balance rule
Governing bodies of European political parties and European political foundations shall be gender balanced.
European political parties and European political foundations shall have internal mechanisms in place promoting gender balance and encouraging the active participation of women in all their activities.
European political parties and European political foundations shall have a protocol in place to prevent, detect and work continuously against sexual harassment as well as discrimination on the basis of gender.
Article 8
Authority for European political parties and European political foundations
An Authority for European political parties and European political foundations (‘Authority’) is established for the purpose of registering, controlling and imposing sanctions on European political parties and European political foundations in accordance with this Regulation.
The Authority shall have legal personality. It shall be independent and shall exercise its functions in full compliance with this Regulation.
The Authority shall decide on the registration and removal from the Register of European political parties and European political foundations in accordance with the procedures and conditions laid down in this Regulation. In addition, the Authority shall regularly verify that the registration conditions laid down in Article 3 and the governance provisions set out in accordance with Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), Article 4(3) and Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), (g) and (k), continue to be complied with by the registered European political parties and European political foundations.
In its decisions, the Authority shall give full consideration to the fundamental right of freedom of association and to the need to ensure pluralism of political parties in Europe.
The Authority shall be represented by its Director who shall take all decisions of the Authority on its behalf.
The Director of the Authority shall be appointed for a five-year non-renewable term by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (jointly referred to as the ‘appointing authority’) by common accord, on the basis of proposals made by a selection committee composed of the Secretaries-General of those institutions following an open call for candidates.
The Director of the Authority shall be selected on the basis of his or her personal and professional qualities. He or she shall not be a member of the European Parliament, hold any electoral mandate or be a current or former employee of a European political party or a European political foundation. The Director selected shall not have a conflict of interests between his or her duty as Director of the Authority and any other official duties, in particular in relation to the application of the provisions of this Regulation.
A vacancy caused by resignation, retirement, dismissal or death shall be filled in accordance with the same procedure.
In the event of a normal replacement or voluntary resignation the Director shall remain in office until a replacement has taken up his or her duties.
If the Director of the Authority no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of his or her duties, he or she may be dismissed by common accord by at least two of the three institutions referred to in the first subparagraph and on the basis of a report drawn up by the selection committee referred to in the first subparagraph on its own initiative or following a request from any of the three institutions.
The Director of the Authority shall be independent in the performance of his or her duties. When acting on behalf of the Authority, the Director shall neither seek nor take instructions from any institution or government or from any other body, office or agency. The Director of the Authority shall refrain from any act which is incompatible with the nature of his or her duties.
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall exercise jointly, with regard to the Director, the powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations of Officials (and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union) laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (14). Without prejudice to decisions on appointment and dismissal, the three institutions may agree to entrust the exercise of some or all of the remaining powers conferred on the appointing authority to any one of them.
The appointing authority may assign the Director to other tasks provided that such tasks are not incompatible with the workload resulting from his or her duties as Director of the Authority and are not liable to create any conflict of interests or to jeopardise the full independence of the Director.
The Authority shall be physically located in the European Parliament, which shall provide the Authority with the necessary offices and administrative support facilities.
The Director of the Authority shall be assisted by staff in respect of whom he or she shall exercise the powers conferred on the appointing authority by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union and the powers conferred on the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment of other servants by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Union, laid down in Council Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 259/68 (the ‘appointing authority’s powers’). The Authority may make use in any areas of its work of seconded national experts or of other staff not employed by the Authority.
The Staff Regulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants and the rules adopted by agreement between the institutions of the Union for giving effect to those Staff Regulations and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants shall apply to the staff of the Authority.
The selection of the staff shall not be liable to result in a conflict of interests between their duties at the Authority and any other official duties, and they shall refrain from any act which is incompatible with the nature of their duties.
The Authority shall conclude agreements with the European Parliament and, if appropriate, with other institutions on any administrative arrangements necessary to enable it to carry out its tasks, in particular agreements regarding the staff, services and support provided pursuant to paragraphs 4, 5 and 8.
The appropriations for the expenditure of the Authority shall be provided under a separate Title in the Section for the European Parliament in the general budget of the Union. The appropriations shall be sufficient to ensure the full and independent operation of the Authority. A draft budgetary plan for the Authority shall be submitted to the European Parliament by the Director, and shall be made public. The European Parliament shall delegate the duties of the Authorising Officer with respect to those appropriations to the Director of the Authority.
Council Regulation No 1 (15) shall apply to the Authority.
The translation services required for the functioning of the Authority and the Register shall be provided by the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union.
The Authority and the Authorising Officer of the European Parliament shall share all information necessary for the execution of their respective responsibilities under this Regulation.
The Director shall submit annually a report to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the activities of the Authority. The Authority shall make the reports public on its website.
The Court of Justice of the European Union shall review the legality of the decisions of the Authority in accordance with Article 263 TFEU and shall have jurisdiction in disputes relating to compensation for damage caused by the Authority in accordance with Articles 268 and 340 TFEU. Should the Authority fail to take a decision where it is required to do so by this Regulation, proceedings for failure to act may be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union in accordance with Article 265 TFEU.
Article 9
Register of European political parties and European political foundations
The Authority shall establish and manage a Register of European political parties and European political foundations. Information from the Register shall be made available online in accordance with Article 39.
In order to ensure the proper functioning of the Register, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 43 and within the scope of the relevant provisions of this Regulation in order to supplement this Regulation by setting out:
(a) the information and supporting documents held by the Authority for which the Register is to be the competent repository, which shall include the statutes of a European political party or European political foundation, any other documents submitted as part of an application for registration in accordance with Article 10(2), any documents received from the Member State of the seat as referred to in Article 20(2), and information on the identity of the persons who are members of bodies or hold offices that are vested with powers of administrative, financial and legal representation, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (f), and Article 6(1), point (g);
(b) the materials from the Register referred to in point (a) of this subparagraph for which the Register is to be competent to certify legality as established by the Authority pursuant to its competences under this Regulation.
The Authority shall not be competent to verify compliance by a European political party or European political foundation with any obligation or requirement imposed on the party or foundation concerned by the Member State of the seat pursuant to Articles 4 and 6, and Article 19(2), which is additional to the obligations and requirements laid down by this Regulation.
The Commission shall adopt implementing acts specifying the details of the registration number system to be applied for the Register and the standard extracts from the Register to be made available to third parties upon request, including the content of letters and documents. Such extracts shall not include personal data other than the identity of the persons who are members of bodies or hold offices that are vested with powers of administrative, financial and legal representation, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (f), and Article 6(1), point (g).
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 44.
Article 10
Application for registration
An application for registration shall be filed with the Authority. An application for registration as a European political foundation shall be filed only through the European political party with which the applicant is formally affiliated.
The application shall be accompanied by:
(a) documents proving that the applicant satisfies the conditions laid down in Article 3, including a standard formal declaration in the form set out in Annex I;
(b) the statutes of the party or foundation, containing the provisions required by Articles 4 and 6, including the relevant annexes and, where applicable, the statement of the Member State of the seat referred to in Article 20(2).
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 43 and within the scope of the relevant provisions of this Regulation to:
(a) supplement this Regulation by identifying any supplementary information or supporting document in relation to paragraph 2 necessary to allow the Authority to fully discharge its responsibilities under this Regulation in relation to the operation of the Register;
(b) amend this Regulation by adapting, where necessary, the standard formal declaration in Annex I in respect of the particulars to be filled in by the applicant, in order to ensure that sufficient information is being held in relation to the signatory, their mandate and the European political party or European political foundation which he or she is mandated to represent for the purposes of the declaration.
Documentation submitted to the Authority as part of the application shall be published immediately on the website referred to in Article 39.
Article 11
Examination of the application and decision of the Authority
The application shall be examined by the Authority in order to determine whether the applicant satisfies the conditions for registration laid down in Article 3 and whether the statutes contain the provisions required by Articles 4 and 6.
The Authority shall adopt a decision to register the applicant, unless it establishes that the applicant does not satisfy the conditions for registration laid down in Article 3 or that the statutes do not contain the provisions required by Articles 4 and 6.
The Authority shall publish its decision to register the applicant within one month following receipt of the application for registration or, where the procedures set out in Article 20(4) are applicable, within four months following receipt of the application for registration.
Where an application is incomplete, the Authority shall ask the applicant without delay to submit any additional information required. For the purposes of the deadline laid down in the second subparagraph, time shall only start to run from the date of receipt by the Authority of a complete application.
The standard formal declaration referred to in Article 10(2), point (a), shall be considered sufficient for the Authority to ascertain that the applicant complies with the conditions specified in Article 3(1), points (d) and (e), or Article 3(2), points (c) and (d), whichever is applicable.
A decision of the Authority to register an applicant shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, together with the statutes of the party or foundation concerned. A decision not to register an applicant shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union, together with the detailed grounds for rejection.
Any amendments to the documents or statutes submitted as part of the application for registration in accordance with Article 10(2) shall be notified to the Authority within two months. The Authority shall update the registration in the light of such amendments. The procedures set out in Article 20(2) and (4) shall apply, mutatis mutandis.
By 30 September each year, the updated list of member parties of a European political party, annexed to the party statutes in accordance with Article 4(2), shall be sent to the Authority, together with the standard formal declaration, using the template set out in Annex I, if a new member party has joined. Any changes following which the European political party might no longer satisfy the condition laid down in Article 3(1), point (b), shall be communicated to the Authority within four weeks of any such change.
Article 12
Verification of compliance with registration conditions and requirements and examination of grounds of removal from the Register
Without prejudice to the procedure laid down in Article 13, the Authority shall regularly verify that the conditions for registration laid down in Article 3, and the governance provisions set out in Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), in Article 4(3), and in Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), (g) and (k), continue to be complied with by registered European political parties and European political foundations.
If the Authority considers that one of the grounds for removal from the Register under Article 21(1), point (a), or Article 21(2) might apply to a European political party or European political foundation, it shall inform the European political party or European political foundation concerned without undue delay. When informing a European political party or European political foundation, the Authority shall invite that European political party or European political foundation to submit its observations within one month of receipt of the information.
In the event of non-compliance with Article 3(1), point (c), (f), (g) or (h), Article 3(2), point (e), (f), (g) or (h), or the governance provisions set out in Article 4(1), points (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f), in Article 4(3), and in Article 6(1), points (a) to (e), (g) and (k), the Authority shall give the European political party or European political foundation concerned the opportunity to introduce the measures required to remedy the situation within the deadline referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. The Authority may, at the reasoned request of the European political party or European political foundation concerned, extend that deadline if and in so far as the Authority considers such an extension to be necessary and appropriate in view of the corrective measures planned by the European political party or European political foundation.
At the expiry of the deadline referred to in paragraphs 2 or 3 of this Article, or upon receipt of any observations or information concerning corrective measures from the European political party or European political foundation concerned before the expiry of the deadline, the Authority shall, without undue delay and in the light of any such observations or information, assess whether any of the grounds for removal from the Register under Article 21(1), point (a), or Article 21(2), apply to the European political party or European political foundation.
Article 13
Verification of the registration conditions relating to the values upon which the Union is founded
The European Parliament, acting on its own initiative or following a reasoned request from a group of citizens, submitted in accordance with the relevant provisions of its Rules of Procedure, or the Council or the Commission, may submit a request to the Authority for it to verify whether a specific European political party or European political foundation complies with the conditions laid down in Article 3(1), points (d) and (e), and Article 3(2), points (c) and (d). In such cases, and in the cases referred to in Article 14(2), the Authority shall inform the European political party or European political foundation concerned without undue delay, invite it to submit its observations and give it the opportunity to introduce measures to remedy the situation within one month of receipt of the information.
The Authority may, at the reasoned request of the European political party or European political foundation concerned, extend the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 if and in so far as the Authority considers such an extension to be necessary and appropriate in view of the corrective measures planned by the European political party or European political foundation.
Upon the expiry of the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article, or upon receipt of any observations and information concerning corrective measures from the European political party or European political foundation concerned before the expiry of the deadline, the Authority shall submit the observations made by the European political party or European political foundation concerned and, where applicable, the description of the corrective measures taken by that party or foundation to the committee of independent eminent persons referred to in Article 16, and shall ask that committee for an opinion on the subject. The committee shall give its opinion within two months of the Authority’s request.
Where facts which cast doubt on compliance by a specific European political party or European political foundation with the conditions laid down in Article 3(1), points (d) and (e), and Article 3(2), points (c) and (d), come to the attention of the Authority, the Authority shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission with a view to enabling any of those institutions to lodge a request for verification as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall declare their intention to lodge a request for verification within two months of receipt of the information.
The procedure laid down in paragraphs 1 to 4 shall not be initiated in the two-month period immediately before the holding of elections to the European Parliament.
The Authority shall decide whether to remove the European political party or European political foundation concerned from the Register, taking into account the opinion of the committee of independent eminent persons referred to in Article 16. The decision of the Authority shall be duly reasoned.
A decision of the Authority to remove the European political party or European political foundation concerned from the Register on grounds of non-compliance with the conditions set out in Article 3(1), point (d) or (e), or Article 3(2), point (c) or (d), shall only be adopted in the event of a manifest and serious breach of those conditions. The decision shall be subject to the procedure set out in paragraph 8 of this Article.
A decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register on the ground of a manifest and serious breach of the conditions set out in Article 3(1), point (d) or (e), or Article 3(2), point (c) or (d), shall be communicated to the European Parliament and the Council. The decision shall enter into force only if no objection is made by the European Parliament and the Council within a period of three months of the communication of the decision to them or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Authority that they will not object. In the event of an objection by the European Parliament and by the Council, the European political party or European political foundation shall remain registered.
The European Parliament and the Council may only object to a decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register on grounds related to the assessment of compliance with the conditions for registration set out in Article 3(1), point (d) or (e), or Article 3(2), point (c) or (d).
Where an objection has been made to a decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register, the Authority shall inform the European political party or European political foundation concerned of the objection.
The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt a position in accordance with their respective decision-making rules adopted in accordance with the Treaties. Any objection to a decision of the Authority to remove a European political party or European political foundation from the Register shall be duly reasoned and shall be made public.
Article 14
Verification of obligations under national law
If a European political party or a European political foundation has seriously failed to fulfil relevant obligations under national law applicable pursuant to Article 19(2), first subparagraph, the Member State of the seat of the European political party or European political foundation may submit to the Authority a request for removal from the Register. That request shall be duly reasoned. In particular, it shall precisely and exhaustively identify the illegal actions and the specific national requirements that have not been complied with.
If the subject matter of the Member State’s request pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph relates exclusively or predominantly to elements affecting respect for the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, the Authority shall launch the verification procedure in accordance with Article 13 of this Regulation.
For any other matter, where, in its request pursuant to the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Member State confirms that an effective remedy against such a request exists at national level and all remedies concerning such a request have been exhausted, the Authority shall, after hearing the representative of the European political party or European political foundation concerned, assess whether the ground for removal from the Register under Article 21(1), point (d), applies to the European political party or European political foundation concerned.
If a European political party or a European political foundation has seriously failed to fulfil relevant obligations under national law applicable pursuant to Article 19(2), second subparagraph, of this Regulation, and if the matter relates exclusively or predominantly to elements affecting respect for the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, the Member State concerned may submit a request to the Authority in accordance with paragraph 1, first subparagraph, of this Article. The Authority shall proceed in accordance with paragraph 1, second subparagraph, of this Article.
For the purposes of this Article, the Authority shall in all cases act without undue delay. The Authority shall inform the Member State concerned and the European political party or European political foundation concerned of the actions taken in response to the reasoned request for removal from the Register.
Article 15
Verification procedure related to infringements of rules on the protection of personal data
No European political party or European political foundation shall deliberately influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of an infringement by a natural or legal person of the applicable rules on the protection of personal data.
If the Authority is informed of a decision of a national supervisory authority within the meaning of Article 4, point (21), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 finding that a natural or legal person has infringed applicable rules on the protection of personal data, and if it follows from that decision, or if there are otherwise reasonable grounds to believe, that the infringement is linked to political activities by a European political party or a European political foundation in the context of elections to the European Parliament, the Authority shall refer this matter to the committee of independent eminent persons referred to in Article 16 of this Regulation. The Authority may, if necessary, liaise with the national supervisory authority concerned.
The committee referred to in paragraph 2 shall give an opinion as to whether the European political party or European political foundation concerned has deliberately influenced or attempted to influence the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of that infringement. The Authority shall request the opinion without undue delay, and no later than one month after being informed of the decision of the national supervisory authority. The Authority shall set a short, reasonable deadline for the committee to give its opinion. The committee shall comply with that deadline.
Having regard to the committee’s opinion, the Authority shall decide, pursuant to Article 32(1), point (a)(ix), whether to impose financial sanctions on the European political party or European political foundation concerned. The decision of the Authority shall be duly reasoned, in particular with regard to the committee’s opinion, and shall be published expeditiously.
The procedure set out in this Article is without prejudice to the procedure set out in Articles 12, 13 and 14. The prohibition on the submission of verification request pursuant to Article 13(1) to (4) during the two-month period immediately before elections to the European Parliament laid down in Article 13(5) shall not apply to the procedure set out in this Article.
Article 16
Committee of independent eminent persons
The committee of independent eminent persons established by Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 shall consist of six members, with the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission each appointing two members. The members of the committee shall be selected on the basis of their personal and professional qualities. They shall neither be members of the European Parliament, the Council or the Commission, nor hold any electoral mandate, be officials or other servants of the European Union or be current or former employees of a European political party or a European political foundation.
Members of the committee shall be independent in the performance of their duties. They shall neither seek nor take instructions from any institution or government or from any other body, office or agency, and shall refrain from any act which is incompatible with the nature of their duties.
The committee shall be renewed within six months after the end of the first session of the European Parliament following each election to the European Parliament. The mandate of the members shall not be renewable.
The committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure. The chair of the committee shall be elected by its members from amongst their number in accordance with those rules. The secretariat and funding of the committee shall be provided by the European Parliament. The secretariat of the committee shall act under the sole authority of the committee.
When requested by the Authority, the committee shall give an opinion on:
(a) any possible manifest and serious breach of the values on which the Union is founded, as referred to in Article 3(1), point (d) and (e), and Article 3(2), point (c) and (d), by a European political party or a European political foundation;
(b) whether a European political party or a European political foundation has deliberately influenced or attempted to influence the outcome of elections to the European Parliament by taking advantage of an infringement of the applicable rules on the protection of personal data.
In the cases referred to in the first subparagraph, points (a) and (b), of this paragraph, the committee may request any relevant document or evidence from the Authority, the European Parliament, the European political party or European political foundation concerned, other political parties, political foundations or other stakeholders, and it may request to hear their representatives. In the case referred to in the first subparagraph, point (b), of this paragraph, the national supervisory authority referred to in Article 15 shall cooperate with the committee in accordance with applicable law.
In its opinions, the committee shall give full consideration to the fundamental right of freedom of association and to the need to ensure pluralism of political parties in Europe.
The opinions of the committee shall be made public without delay.
CHAPTER III
LEGAL STATUS OF EUROPEAN POLITICAL PARTIES AND EUROPEAN POLITICAL FOUNDATIONS
Article 17
Legal personality
European political parties and European political foundations shall have European legal personality.
Article 18
Legal recognition and capacity
European political parties and European political foundations shall enjoy legal recognition and legal capacity in all Member States.
Article 19
Applicable law
European political parties and European political foundations shall be governed by this Regulation.
For matters not regulated by this Regulation, or, where matters are only partly regulated by it, for those aspects which are not covered by it, European political parties and European political foundations shall be governed by the applicable provisions of national law in the Member State in which they have their respective seats.
Activities carried out by European political parties and European political foundations in other Member States shall be governed by the relevant national laws of those Member States.
For matters not regulated by this Regulation or by the applicable provisions pursuant to paragraph 2 or, where matters are only partly regulated by them, for those aspects which are not covered by them, European political parties and European political foundations shall be governed by the provisions of their respective statutes.
Article 20
Acquisition of European legal personality
A European political party or a European political foundation shall acquire European legal personality on the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of the decision of the Authority to register it pursuant to Article 11.
If the Member State in which an applicant for registration as a European political party or a European political foundation has its seat so requires, the application submitted pursuant to Article 10 shall be accompanied by a statement issued by that Member State, certifying that the applicant has complied with all relevant national requirements for application, and that its statutes are in conformity with the applicable law referred to in Article 19(2), first subparagraph.
Where the applicant enjoys legal personality under the law of a Member State, the acquisition of European legal personality shall be regarded by that Member State as a conversion of the national legal personality into a successor European legal personality. The latter shall fully maintain any pre-existing rights and obligations of the former national legal entity, which shall cease to exist as such. The Member States concerned shall not apply prohibitive conditions to such conversions. The applicant shall maintain its seat in the Member State concerned until a decision in accordance with Article 11 has been published.
If the Member State in which the applicant has its seat so requires, the Authority shall fix the date of the publication referred to in paragraph 1 only after consultation with that Member State.
Article 21
Termination of European legal personality
A European political party or a European political foundation shall lose its European legal personality upon its removal from the Register by a decision of the Authority:
(b) if, in the course of the procedure laid down in Article 13 of this Regulation, the Authority finds that the conditions for registration laid down in Article 3(1), point (d) or (e), or Article 3(2), point (c) or (d), of this Regulation, concerning respect for the values on which the Union is founded, set out in Article 2 TEU, have been manifestly and seriously breached by the European political party concerned or its member parties, or by the European political foundation concerned or its member organisations;
(c) at the request of the European political party or European political foundation concerned; or
(d) at the request of a Member State that fulfils the requirements laid down in Article 14(1) and (3).
If the Authority decides to remove a European political party from the Register, it shall also remove a European political foundation affiliated to it from the Register.
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© European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union). Reused under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Only EU legislation published in the printed Official Journal of the European Union is deemed authentic; consolidated texts are reproduced here for documentation purposes and have been reformatted to Markdown.