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http://dx.doi.org/10.17176/20230718-231114-0 https://verfassungsblog.de/changing-tides-in-european-election-law/ Changing Tides in European Election Law - A German Constitutional Law Perspective on the New Threshold Clause for the Election of the European Parliament Mittrop, Johanna Grundmann, Jonas eng 2023-07-18 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 BVerfG Electoral Law Electoral threshold European Elections European Parliament European Union German Federal Constitutional Court Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 On 15 June, the Bundestag approved a minimum percentage threshold for elections to the European Parliament (EP). Shortly before the summer break, the Bundesrat (Federal Council) also agreed to the clause. German lawmakers already failed twice in this endeavour before the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, short BVerfG). This time, the German legislator can refer to a binding EU legal act backing its reform efforts. This means the electoral threshold must now be treated (also by the constitutional court) as determined by EU law – with all consequences. However, even a 2% hurdle is not 100% safe from the BVerfG.