10 Elections. A history of the European Parliament at the ballot box (1979-2024) June 2024 | Page 161

conventions are also words making a comeback . Blocked since the attempt at a Constitution for Europe in 2005 , Parliament ’ s resolution of November 2023 , following the Conference on the Future of Europe , resurrected the hope for a Union fit for purpose . A hope for new treaties to face the common challenges of today and tomorrow , and which could also have helped us with the challenges of the past .
‘ It ’ s time for change … It ’ s time for Europe ’, the slogan of our 2009 election campaign , is still relevant : Parliament still has no right of initiative and the electoral system needs reform . It is high time to break away from nationalist vetoes and intergovernmentalism to embrace truly democratic and transparent decision-making with codecision of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU .
2014 and the successful use of the Spitzenkandidat ( lead candidate ) system , brought some clarity to the electoral process for citizens , even if short-lived . ‘ Move Europe forward ’, our slogan for those elections , did come partially true , but the lead candidate process was trampled over in 2019 . With parties still in the process of selecting their lead candidates for 2024 as these lines are written , the scenarios of 2014 and 2019 remain open .
In 2019 , JEF Europe ’ s campaign slogan for the European elections was ‘ I choose Europe ’. At the time , after the Brexit referendum , the choice seemed to be between stopping here or continuing this beautiful yet unfinished project . A few months before the election , in March 2019 , members of JEF Europe had demonstrated with JEF United Kingdom at the Put it to the People march in London in support of the Remain campaign . While the United Kingdom chose to leave the EU , the rest of the Union chose to unite , and the 2024 elections have other stakes .
2024 will be the first election of the European Parliament without
161