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On the occasion of the European Parliament Elections 2019, the International IDEA Europe Office participated in a public open-air event organized by the European Parliament (EP), Sunday evening 26 May 2019, on the EP Esplanade in Brussels.

This Discussion Paper puts together relevant data on the inclusion of young people and women in European Parliament elections.

The Facility on Justice in Conflict and Transition is financed by the European Commission through the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) of the Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments and aims to support transitional justice and constitution building processes in third countries affected by conflict or in transition through:

In May 2019, the European Parliament elections will take place across the EU. In the context of rising populism and a shifting geopolitical role of the European Union, the risk of extreme right movements taking over a substantial share of seats in the house is high.

In various countries, the electoral behaviour of citizens who live outside their nation of origin—the diaspora—has played a key role in the success of political parties in their home countries.

Does a crisis of representation loom over Swedish and Belgian politics? On Tuesday, 5 February 2019, Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag, Andreas Norlén, visited the Belgian Chamber of Representatives. The occasion for the visit was the opening of the exhibition on ‘One hundred years of Swedish democracy’. In his keynote speech, International IDEA’s Secretary-General analysed the state of Europe’s democracy.

The Office of International IDEA to the European Union organized on 7 December 2018, a Roundtable discussion on ”Political empowerment of women through ICTs”, with the support of the Canadian Mission to the European Union. The aim of the event was to share experiences and views on the availability and use of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools to advance the political empowerment of women.

Since the Maidan revolution of 2014, Ukraine has embarked on an ambitious decentralisation process that will see more governance responsibilities be transferred to the local level in years to come. On 13 December therefore, International IDEA presented its ‘State of Local Democracy Assessment in Ukraine’.

The Office of International IDEA to the European Union organized a Meeting of Representatives of International IDEA Member States in Brussels on 3 December 2018. The meeting was hosted by the Permanent Mission of the African Union to the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

Democracy involves popular control over decision-making, and political equality among those exercising that control. In parliamentary democracies, day-to-day control is delegated to elected politicians, who organize themselves in political parties. Globally, political parties have become an important interface between government and the people.

With parliamentary elections in Moldova less than three months away, debate on the funding of election campaigns is heating up. On 6 December 2018, International IDEA organized Moldova’s first roundtable dialogue on Third-Party Contributions in Political and Campaign Funding, together with the Center for Continuous Electoral Trainings (CICDE).

Goal 5 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG 5) aims to achieve gender equality and empowerment of all women. For several years, there has been a growing attention for the role of SDG 5 in enabling sustainable development, at various levels of policy and in regions worldwide. In the light of this trend. Brussels has become a hub for advocacy and initiatives in this field, often supported by European institutions or international organizations.

Ensuring the effective implementation of political finance regulations and regularly updating them to appropriately address new risk areas are the keys to successful anti-corruption efforts. In order to influence the global policy debate on money in politics, International IDEA has recently participated in two major international anti-corruption events; the 18th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) and the 18th EPAC/EACN Annual Professional Conference.

^{Disclaimer: Views expressed in this commentary are those of the staff member. This commentary is independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed do not necessarily represent the institutional position of International IDEA, its Board of Advisers or its Council of Member States.}

One of the most striking findings of International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy Indices is that the perceived level of corruption has not changed significantly across the world in the last ten years. In particular, the regional score of Eastern and post-Soviet Europe continues to remain below the global and European averages.

The Office of International IDEA to the European Union celebrated the International Day of Democracy (15 September) by co-organizing a high-level conference on, ‘EU leadership for democracy’, at the European Parliament in Brussels on 18 September 2018.

Annika Silva-Leander, Head of the Democracy Assessment and Political Analysis unit at International IDEA was invited to present the most recent findings of the Global State of Democracy Indices data, funded by the Government of Sweden, at the opening seminar “Swedish aid in shrinking democratic spaces” of Stockholm Evaluation Week (SEW) at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The general election on 9 September 2018 in Sweden will mark a decisive moment in the country’s polling history. Beyond the political implications, the country’s electoral process is facing an important litmus test for the quality of Sweden’s democracy.

A delegation of 15 young Zimbabwean leaders visited International IDEA’s Stockholm headquarters on 20 August to discuss the state of Zimbabwean democracy, the recent elections and the prospects for Zimbabwe’s youth in the future.

At a Meeting of Representatives of International IDEA Member States in Brussels, participants engaged in an interactive debate on the role of the European Union in a changing geo-political landscape and the future of liberal democracy. The meeting was hosted by the Permanent Mission of the African Union to the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States on 29 June 2018.