A 700-seat no-loss composition for the 2019 European Parliament

TL;DR

This paper proposes a mathematical method for allocating European Parliament seats post-Brexit, ensuring no country receives fewer seats than in 2014 while complying with EU law.

Contribution

It introduces a no-loss seat allocation method that maintains previous allocations for all Member States except the UK, addressing legal and political constraints.

Findings

Method satisfies EU legal conditions

No Member State (except UK) loses seats

Provides a fair, transparent allocation approach

Abstract

The following paper is part of the authors' response to an invitation from the Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) of the European Parliament to advise on mathematical methods for the allocation of Parliamentary seats between the 27 Member States following the planned departure of the United Kingdom in 2019. The authors were requested to propose a method that respects the usual conditions of EU law, and with the additional property that no Member State (other than the UK) receives fewer that its 2014 allocation. This paper was delivered to the AFCO on 21 August 2017, for consideration by the AFCO at its meeting in Strasbourg on 11 September 2017.