Вибори до Європейського Парламенту Європейського Союзу: нормативно-правове регулювання та вплив на процедури виборів у країнах-членах ЄС

During the research, it was found that elections to the European Parliament are a key element of democratic governance in the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU). It was established that the basis for the legal regulation of elections to the European Parliament is the Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage of 1976, adopted by the Council of the EU. It forms key principles of the electoral process, including: the use of proportional representation as the main system for allocating seats in the European Parliament; ensuring universal, direct and equal suffrage for all EU citizens; flexibility in the application of electoral systems, which provides for the possibility of establishing closed or open lists or a single transitional vote system. At the same time, it was proven that, unlike national elections in EU member states, where stricter restrictions may apply, the 1976 Act provides countries with a certain autonomy in adapting electoral procedures, which contributes to political diversity, but on the other hand complicates unification. In the context of the evolution of EU law, the issue of adapting the Act to modern realities is relevant, in particular considering the digitalization of the electoral process and the protection of voter data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation of 2016. The comparative analysis of the electoral systems of the EU Member States has established that open lists contribute to the personalization of elections, increasing the accountability of candidates to voters. However, they require more complex vote counting and can lead to fragmentation of the political spectrum. Closed lists, on the contrary, strengthen discipline within parties, but limit the individual choice of citizens. The single transferable vote system, although it provides greater fairness, requires significant resources for implementation and voter education, which makes it less accessible to countries with limited budgets. The proposed reforms of the electoral process, such as a single election day, electronic voting and increased educational work, can be a step towards modernizing the electoral process in the context of globalization and EU enlargement.