One month ahead of the upcoming elections to the European Parliament from 6 to 9 June 2024, this publication gives an overview of the accreditation procedures across the European Union for civil society international observers. In particular, this research examines how international commitments are reflected in national legislation and how they are implemented in practice.
Since 2014, the team of the Estonian non-governmental organisation Agora Election Observation (Agora) and its predecessor AEGEE Election Observation have organised 29 election observation missions for young observers (18 to 30 years old) across Europe, including one for the European Parliament elections in 2019. The experience has shown that election observation for representatives of civil society, in this case from NGOs, is not possible in all EU countries either due to national legislation or a lack of practical implementation by administrations.
All EU Member States are part of the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and signed commitments in the Copenhagen Document in 1990 regarding free elections.
Art. 8 of the 1990 Copenhagen Document:
The participating States consider that the presence of observers, both foreign and domestic, can enhance the electoral process for States in which elections are taking place. They therefore invite observers from any other CSCE participating States and any appropriate private institutions and organizations who may wish to do so to observe the course of their national election proceedings, to the extent permitted by law. They will also endeavour to facilitate similar access for election proceedings held below the national level. Such observers will undertake not to interfere in the electoral proceedings.