Editing Primary election (section)

===European Union===
With a view to the [[Elections in the European Union|European elections]], many [[European political party|European political parties]] consider organizing a presidential primary.

Indeed, the [[Lisbon treaty]], which entered into force in December 2009, lays down that the outcome of elections to the [[European Parliament]] must be taken into account in selecting the President of the Commission; the Commission is in some respects the executive branch of the EU and so its president can be regarded as the EU prime minister. Parties are therefore encouraged to designate their candidates for [[President of the European Commission]] ahead of the next election in 2014, in order to allow voters to vote with a full knowledge of the facts. Various have suggested using primaries to elect these candidates.
* In April 2004, a former [[Conservative Party (UK)|British conservative]] [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]], [[Tom Spencer (politician)|Tom Spencer]], advocated for American-style primaries in the [[European People's Party]]: "A series of primary elections would be held at two-week intervals in February and March 2009. The primaries would start in the five smallest countries and continue every two weeks until the big five voted in late March. To avoid swamping by the parties from the big countries, one could divide the number of votes cast for each candidate in each country by that country's voting weight in the Council of Ministers. Candidates for the post of president would have to declare by 1 January 2009."<ref>{{in lang|en}} Article by Tom Spencer in European Voice [http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/american-style-primaries-would-breathe-life-into-european-elections/49725.aspx American-style primaries would breathe life into European elections] 22.04.2004</ref>
* In July 2013 [[European Green Party]] (EGP) announced that it would run a first ever European-wide [[open primary]] as the preparation for the [[2014 European Parliament election|European elections in 2014]].<ref>{{cite web |title=EGP announce innovative common campaign for European Elections |url=http://europeangreens.eu/news/egp-announce-innovative-common-campaign-european-elections |website=European Greens}}</ref> It was to be open to all citizens of the EU over the age of 16 who "supported green values"<ref>{{cite web |title=Green Party Candidate Selection Infogram |url=https://europeangreens.eu/sites/europeangreens.eu/files/imce/EN_square_primary_infographic.jpg}}</ref> They elected two transnational candidates who were to be the face of the common campaign of the European [[green parties]] united in the EGP, and who also were their candidates for [[European Commission President|European Commission president]].
* Following the defeat of the [[Party of European Socialists]] during the [[2009 European Parliament election|European elections of June 2009]], the PES Congress that took place in Prague in December 2009 made the decision that PES would designate its own candidate before the 2014 European elections. A Campaign for a PES primary<ref>{{in lang|en}} Website of the [http://campaignforapesprimary.blogspot.com/ Campaign for a PES primary]</ref> was then launched by PES supporters in June 2010, and it managed to convince the PES Council meeting in Warsaw in December 2010 to set up Working Group "Candidate 2014" in charge of proposing a procedure and timetable for a "democratic" and "transparent" designation process "bringing on board all our parties and all levels within the parties".<ref>{{in lang|en}} Resolution of the PES Council in Warsaw, [http://www.pes.org/sites/www.pes.org/files/adopted_pes_council_resolution_2_en.pdf A democratic and transparent process for designating the PES candidate for the European Commission Presidency] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927050556/http://www.pes.org/sites/www.pes.org/files/adopted_pes_council_resolution_2_en.pdf|date=27 September 2011}}, 2 December 2010</ref>

The European think-tank [[Notre Europe]] also suggested European parties should designate candidates for [[High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy|High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web |date=October 2010 |title=Des réformes institutionnelles à la politisation – Ou comment l'Union européenne du Traité de Lisbonne peut intéresser ses citoyens |trans-title=From institutional reforms to politicization - Or how the European Union of the Lisbon Treaty can interest its citizens |url=http://www.notre-europe.eu/uploads/tx_publication/Bref18-GRN.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725110854/http://www.notre-europe.eu/uploads/tx_publication/Bref18-GRN.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2011 |access-date=6 February 2011 |publisher=Les Brefs de Notre Europe |language=fr}}</ref>

Finally, the European Parliament envisaged to introduce a requirement for internal democracy in the regulation on the statute of European political parties. European parties would therefore have to involve individual members in the major decisions such as designating the presidential candidate.<ref>{{in lang|en}} European Parliament press release, [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/content/20110131STO12825/html/Constitutional-Affairs-Committee-discusses-pan-European-political-parties Constitutional Affairs Committee discusses pan-European political parties], 31 January 2011</ref>