Campaigners are bracing for a political landscape that could lead to further stigmatization of marginalized communities.
The European Parliament's failure to fully reflect the EU's diverse population has caused an "identity crisis" in the bloc, activists quoted by the Guardian have said. The announcement comes just days before the vote, which is expected to elect even fewer black, Asian and ethnic minority MEPs.
The European Network Against Racism found that in the last parliamentary term, only 4.3% of MEPs were from racial and ethnic minorities - a proportion that is dramatically lower than the roughly 10% of the EU's population, which is defined as such.
The big gap has been widened by Brexit. The departure of UK MEPs in 2020 saw the proportion of racial minorities in the European Parliament drop to 3.5% - just 25 out of 705 MEPs, according to the 2020 analysis.
"I think this really tells us a lot about our democracy. Europe is living in an identity crisis because the European Parliament, from the research and the data we collected, does not represent the entire European population," said Nourhen Mahmoudi, Advocacy and Policy Advisor at the network to fight racism.
In practice, campaigners say, this disconnect means that people with lived experience of issues such as racism and inequality are often not at the table during key European discussions, hampering efforts to create policy that meets the needs of a diverse EU population. "This disparity raises fundamental questions about the democratic legitimacy of the institutions, especially the European Parliament," Mahmoudi said.
Polls suggest support for far-right and nationalist parties will rise in June's European elections. For this reason, campaigners are bracing for a political landscape that could lead to further stigmatization of marginalized communities - and with fewer MEPs of color in Parliament.
Data collected by the Anti-Racism Network shows a stark contrast between left-wing and centrist parties, where in many cases some effort has been made to include ethnic minority candidates on party lists, and right-wing parties, where this level of representation is low. and in some cases it is completely absent.
Some political factions, such as the far-right Identity and Democracy group of MEPs, lack any representation of racial minorities.
However, Mahmoudi stressed that representation in the European Parliament must go beyond "just ticking boxes" if it is to truly create a more equal Europe.
"Diversity and political representation are vital. But at the same time we must recognize that representation alone or symbolic and superficial representation does not guarantee progress in the fight against racism," she added.
In recent years, campaigners have watched far-right parties use diversity rhetoric and field ethnic minority candidates in an attempt to push their own agenda.
"When racialized individuals support far-right ideologies, they legitimize and justify policies that harm minorities. This is what we call 'diversity washing,'" Mahmoudi explained.
It's a tactic that complicates the question of how best to address the wide diversity gap in parliament. Campaigners outlined a range of approaches, from strengthening civil society organizations to tackling systemic racism, which often hinders political participation, to making the EU and its institutions more accessible to citizens.
Another strategy consists in overcoming the identity crisis in Europe. "I think Europe needs to bravely and really honestly address its colonial past and understand that the racism we live with today comes from the actions of the past," she added.
The Anti-Racism Network also seeks to build bridges with allies who recognize that tackling racism is key to strengthening democracy across the EU.
"True representation means understanding that racism is not just a problem faced by racialized individuals - it is a systemic problem that permeates the democratic fabric of European society. So even if this problem affects minorities, tackling it it's not just their responsibility. It's everyone's responsibility," concluded Mahmoudi. |BGNES
