All lessons focus on the situation in European Small States involved in this Erasmus+ project. These are, in alphabetical order: Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, and San Marino.

Country reports for this lesson were presented at the Erasmus+ meeting on 30 August 2021 in Liechtenstein (hybrid format).

... let us see if you have ever reflected about the content of this lesson. So we start with a few introductory questions. You will receive answers as the course progresses.

In the following chapters we will go into some aspects of citizens' participation in European Small States in more detail. Please note that you will find more details in other lessons, e.g. challenges to democracy, social policy, conflict resolution, citizenship, refugees and migration and others. We also offer numerous links which you are welcome to select to deepen your knowledge.

You can learn more about:

• Voting and election rights and voter turnout
• Parliaments and constituencies
• Direct democracy
• Other forms of citizens' participation
• Media situation

Citizens can get involved in the political process in their own state and possibly beyond at the European level in various forms. Fundamentally important and indispensable for a democratic state is the right of citizens to regularly participate in elections and to directly or indirectly determine the political mandate holders. Elections to the European Parliament are additionally held in member states of the European Union.

Depending on the legal formulation of the constitution and laws, citizens can also be granted direct democratic rights with more or less binding effect. There are popular initiatives, referendums and other direct-democratic instruments to enable this in several countries.

In addition, there is a broad repertoire of more informal participation procedures or instruments with little binding effect, such as petitions, or involvement within the framework of parties, associations, NGOs, etc.

In a democratic and liberal society, the free media also play an important role.

We will see how the situation is in the European Small States considered here.

All European small states presented here link the right to vote at national level to citizenship. At the local level, the situation is partly different.

In almost all of these states, the active voting age is 18. Malta is an exception, as voting is possible from the age of 16.

Most states impose the condition of having permanent residence in the state in question. The two exceptions are Luxembourg and San Marino. There, nationals residing abroad can also participate in elections. Luxembourg nationals abroad can vote by postal vote. The situation is different in San Marino: citizens abroad must physically be present in San Marino and pay for their own travel expenses.

Election right at national level

The number of members of parliament varies between 25 (Liechtenstein) and 101 (Estonia). However, if one calculates how many people of the total population are represented by a single MP, a different picture emerges: the 60 MPs in San Marino represent on average just under 600 people, in Liechtenstein with the 25 MPs it is just under 1600. They are followed by Andorra, Iceland, Montenegro and Malta. Already more than 10,000 stand for a mandate in Luxembourg, in Estonia it is about 13,000 - and the most in Cyprus with just under 24,000. One MP in Cyprus thus represents more than half the number of inhabitants of Liechtenstein or San Marino.

Number of Members of Parliament (MoP) and population represented by a single Member of Parliament (election of parliament)

The number of constituencies also varies greatly: Montenegro and San Marino consist of one unitary constituency, while in Malta 13 constituencies are defined.

All states except Andorra have a proportional electoral system. This means that the parties receive seats in parliament roughly in proportion to their share of the electorate. Andorra is an exception in this respect, as the 14 candidates identified nationwide and the 14 elected in the constituencies are elected according to the majoritarian system.

Number of constituencies and election system at national level (election of parliament)

Below we present some specifics in the respective small states.

Andorra. 14 deputies (consellers generals) are elected at national level by proportional election system, 2 deputies in each of the 7 parishes (constituencies) are elected by majority vote, which adds to 14 deputies – 28 in total.

Cyprus. According to the constitution, 50 seats in parliament are allocated between Greek Cypriots (70%) and Turkish Cypriots (30%). However, after the constitutional crisis of 1963, Turkish Cypriots withdrew from administration and their seats remained vacant. Greek Cypriot seats were subsequently increased to 56, allocated amongst districts, and also three recognised religious minorities (Latins, Maronites, Armenians) can elect one 'observer' each.

Cyprus is a Presidential Republic, and the President is elected at separate presidential election for a 5-year-term.

Estonia. The Estonian President is elected maximum for two 5-year terms, elected by Riigikogu (parliament)m not by the people.

Estonia was the first state worldwide with elections over the Internet. In 2019, already 44% voted over Internet.

Iceland. In Iceland, there is a 5 per cent threshold. Only parties that are above this threshold are considered for parliamentary mandates.

Liechtenstein. In the Upper Country 15 MPs are elected, in the Lower Country 10 MPs. A threshold clause of 8 per cent of all votes cast nationwide applies. The hurdle for small parties is therefore correspondingly high. Mandates are distributed separately in the two constituencies according to a proportional distribution key.

Luxembourg. Voting is mandatory for all registered voters except for those over the age of 75 or living in another municipality than the one where they have to vote.

Malta. There is no party threshold in Malta. In each of 13 districts,. 5 members of parliament are elected. The districts – with the exception of Gozo – must be numerically within a 5% range of difference.

Montenegro. There is a 3 per cent party threshold of all party votes at national level, except for parties that represent ethnic minorities, i.e. 0.7% for ethnic parties with less than 15% of the population, and 0.35% for Croat ethnic parties.

San Marino. There is no party threshold in San Marino. Elections are conducted in a single constituency for a five year-term.

More information about national elections and electoral systems can be found on the website of Comparative Studies of Electoral Systems CSES. There you find data on the following elections: Estonia (2011); Iceland (1999, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017); Montenegro (2012, 2016).

No elections take place at regional level in the European small states presented here. Nevertheless, there can be regional administrative units, but these are then appointed by the government or parliament. For instance in Cyprus, a district officer for each of the six districts is appointed, operating as part of the Ministry of Interior. Or in Malta, there is a Gozo Regional Development Authority whose Board is appointed by the Minister of Gozo.

All small states require residence in the municipality in which they are allowed to vote. The voting age at the local level in most countries is 18+ as for elections at the national level. The exceptions are Malta with a voting age of 16+ at national and local level, and Estonia with a voting age of 18+ at national and 16+ at local level.

In contrast to elections at national level, the requirement of national citizenship to vote at local level exists only in a few states: Andorra, Liechtenstein and Montenegro. Some states open eligibility to citizens of EU member states, as they are members of the EU (Cyprus, Estonia, Luxembourg, Malta).

In Iceland and San Marino, foreigners are allowed to vote at local level although EU regulations do not apply. In Iceland, Nordic nationals with permanent residence in the municipality can vote after 3 years of residence, other foreign nationals after 5 years. In San Marino, foreign nationals are entitled to vote after 10 years of residence in San Marino.

Only Andorra, Liechtenstein and Montenegro restrict the right to vote to their own nationals.

Election right at local level

Andorra. Voting right at local level requires residence in the municipality and Andorran citizenship.

Cyprus. In the member states of the European Union, EU citizens enjoy the right to vote at local level in other EU states after an eventual period of residence. This also applies to Cyprus.

Estonia. In the member states of the European Union, EU citizens enjoy the right to vote at local level in other EU states after an eventual period of residence. This also applies to Cyprus. Voting age at local level is 16+, compared to 18+ at national level.

Iceland. Foreigners are entitled to vote at local level. It is distinguished between Nordic citizens who are allowed to vote after 3 years of residence, and other foreigners who have to wait 5 years until they get their right to vote.

Liechtenstein. Voting right at local level requires residence in the municipality and Liechtenstein citizenship.

Luxembourg. In the member states of the European Union, EU citizens enjoy the right to vote at local level in other EU states after an eventual period of residence. This also applies to Cyprus.

Malta. In the member states of the European Union, EU citizens enjoy the right to vote at local level in other EU states after an eventual period of residence. This also applies to Cyprus.

Montenegro. Voting right at local level requires residence in the municipality and Montenegrin citizenship.

San Marino. Foreigners are entitled to vote at local level after 10 years of residence in San Marino.

The number of municipalities varies greatly in the European small states. Andorra has the lowest number with just 7 municipalities, followed by San Marino (9) and Liechtenstein (11). These are also the smallest states in terms of population. Cyprus has the highest number with 492 municipalities – those in northern Cyprus included.

Because of this large number of municipalities, the municipalities in Cyprus have the smallest average number of inhabitants, namely 2'400. Liechtenstein and San Marino follow with an average of less than 4'000. Andorra and Estonia have more than 10'000, and the average number of inhabitants in Montenegro is even almost 30'000 – almost as much as the whole population of San Marino (34'000) or Liechtenstein (39'000).

Number of municipalities and mean population

Here are some additional explanations:

Cyprus. 492 communities exist in Cyprus, 350 of which are located in the government-controlled area of the Republic of Cyprus. They are part of the 39 municipalities, 30 of which are in the southern part. If the population of a municipality falls below 4,000 inhabitants in three consecutive years, it may be abolished and become a commune.

Estonia. There are 15 towns and 64 rural municipalities in Estonia.

Iceland. In 1950, there were 229 municipalities in Iceland, but many municipalities have emerged recently. 69 municipalities exist at present.

For more information about local and regional authorities in European states you find a lot of information on the website of the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

Andorra. No other officials at national level are directly elected by the people. The Ombudsman and the judges are not directly elected by the people.

Cyprus. Citizens of Cyprus, as well as EU citizens permanently residing in Cyprus, can vote in elections to the European Parliament. In the last elections in 2019, Cyprus was allowed to send 6 members to the European Parliament.

Cyprus is a Presidential Republic, and the President is elected at separate presidential election for a 5-year-term.

Estonia. Citizens of Estonia, as well as EU citizens permanently residing in Estonia, can vote in elections to the European Parliament. In the last elections in 2019, Estonia was allowed to send 6 members to the European Parliament.

Iceland. In addition to the parliamentary elections, the President is elected directly by those entitled to vote. The president entrusts his authority to Ministers. No other officials at national level are directly elected by the people.

Liechtenstein. Under certain conditions, judges can be directly elected by the people. This constitutional provision was introduced in 2003, but has never been applied so far.

Luxembourg. Citizens of Luxembourg, as well as EU citizens permanently residing in Luxembourg, can vote in elections to the European Parliament. In the last elections in 2019, Luxembourg was allowed to send 6 members to the European Parliament.

All employees and pensioners (including cross-border workers) can vote for 60 representatives of the professional chamber which can take position on legislative proposals.

Malta. Citizens of Malta, as well as EU citizens permanently residing in Malta, can vote in elections to the European Parliament. In the last elections in 2019, Malta was allowed to send 6 members to the European Parliament.

Montenegro. No other officials at national level are directly elected by the people.

San Marino. No other officials at national level are directly elected by the people.

The majority of the small states show a favourably high voter turnout. Malta ranks first with more than 92 percent in the last parliamentary elections, closely followed by Luxembourg (89.7%).

The lowest turnout is in San Marino with just under 56 per cent.

Voter turnout in the last parliament elections (in %)

Data on the most recent elections can also be found on the website of International IDEA, Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Here is the link.

The way of electoral participation - at the ballot box, combined with postal voting or even electronically - varies quite considerably. Estonia is particularly noteworthy as electronic voting has become very popular. Already in 2007 about 5 per cent of all votes were cast electronically via Internet. It steadily increased to more than 40 per cent in the general elections 2019, and almost 50 per cent in the elections to the European Parliament in 2019.

Direct democracy is understood as the most binding possibility for citizens to make decisions at the ballot box that go beyond the regular elections.

Liechtenstein and San Marino have numerous instruments of direct democracy. Referendums are not only held when ordered by parliament, but also by way of popular initiatives or citizens' referendums.

Malta, Montenegro and Luxembourg are somewhat more reserved in the legal availability of direct democracy instruments as well as the frequency of referendums.

Andorra, Estonia and Iceland can hold referendums, but only if ordered by the authorities. Cyprus, on the other hand, excludes direct popular participation. This is not least due to the fact that because of the division of the island and the conflict behind it, there are concerns that this could further exacerbate social conflicts.

Direct democratic instruments

Andorra. Three town councils or one tenth of the people entitled to vote may submit bills to the Parliament, but no popular vote results from it.

However, the parliament can submit a bill to the people, as was last the case in 1993 with the introduction of a new constitution.

Cyprus. No direct democratic instruments such as referenda or popular initiatives are in place in Cyprus. Only a consultative referendum to seek the opinion of the people on important issues is available through the Law on referendums.

Estonia. Only the parliament has the right to initiate referendums. It can be a formulated referendum with a binding result, or a non-formulated referendum which is non-binding, but compulsory to act accordingly to the result. Amendments to the constitution have to be submitted to a referendum mandatorily.

Popular initiatives with a popular vote in the end is not in place, but 1,000 persons or more can address an appeal to the parliament for further discussion.

Iceland. Only authorities can trigger a referendum. Two issues are combined with a obligatory referendum: to remove the President from office, and to alter the constitutional status of the Church.

Liechtenstein. A wide range of direct democratic rights is enshrined in law in Liechtenstein. The most important of these are the popular initiative to amend laws or the constitution, the citizen-initiated referendum against legislative, financial or international treaty decisions by parliament, and the possibility for parliament to submit decisions to the people on its own initiative. On the other hand, the Prince also has a strong position, as he is granted a right of veto in most votes.

All these instruments are used quite often and Liechtenstein is one of the leading states in terms of the application of direct democratic rights.

Luxembourg. A citizen-initiated referendum against constitutional amendments is admitted in Luxembourg, though not used in practice. A few popular votes took place in 2012 which were submitted by the authorities.

Malta. With 10 per cent of the electorate, the number of signatures for a popular initiative is rather high. Thus, this instrument is not used very often, the last one being on spring hunting of birds in 2015. Also popular votes initiative by the government are rare.

Montenegro. The governmental and the mandatory referendum only have been applied twice: 1992 on remaining in Yugoslavia, and in 2006 the mandatory referendum in Montenegro's independence.

The hurdle to call a national referendum is rather high: at least 10 per cent of the citizens entitled to vote.

San Marino. San Marino has a broad repertoire of direct democratic rights. Indeed, these rights are also regularly applied and San Marino is one of the leading states in terms of direct democracy.

Information on the different direct democratic instruments in different countries can be found on the website Navigator to Direct Democracy. Here is the link. Popular votes in countries worldwide is documented by the Centre for Research on Direct Democracy. Here is the link.

Of course, there are numerous other forms, such as demonstrations and manifestations, petitions, debates in social media, etc., through which citizens can engage in the political process. Interest groups can also organise themselves, for example in the form of political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), professional groups, trade unions, etc. It is not possible to go into this in detail in this lesson. It is also the case that such forms of civil participation and engagement have been little studied and less data is available than, for example, on elections or voting.

The organisation "Reporters without Borders" regularly surveys the state of press freedom. The data is collected through an online questionnaire sent to journalists, media lawyers, researchers and other media specialists selected by Reporters without Borders in the 180 countries covered by the index.

Among the European small states considered here, Estonia is ranked best, i.e. 15th in the world, followed by Iceland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Cyprus, all of which are ranked in the top 30. Andorra is ranked 39th, still in the top quarter, while Malta is in the middle. Montenegro is the only one of our small states to land in the second half of the table, in 104th place.

No data is available for San Marino.

World Press Freedom Index 2021 of "Reporters without borders"

Source: Reporters without Borders – World Press Freedom Index.

The overview of the development since 2014 shows that almost all states have been able to maintain their position more or less unchanged. Only Malta experienced a significant deterioration after 2017, from 47th to 81st place.

World Press Freedom Index 2014-2021 of "Reporters without borders"

Source: Worldbank with data of Reporters without borders: Link.

Below are a few comments on individual states.

Andorra. There is criticism that there is too much closeness between politics and the media, but also that business and not least the Catholic Church exert a great deal of influence on the media. The circumstances of the small state also mean that there is little room for independence, anonymity and protection of privacy.

Cyprus. In Cyprus, there are close links between the ruling party and the media, which makes independent and objective reporting difficult. Other political parties also have their own newspapers, radio or television stations.

Estonia. Estonia has lost a few ranks despite its good position in recent years. The change is explained by the fact that there were verbal political attacks against media by parties of the ruling coalition. The independence of some media is also questioned.

Iceland. Despite the good ranking, the media landscape in Iceland is considered too limited. Political ties to media ownership still remain. Iceland's law protects journalists and freedom of expression, but a lack of funding continues to be the main problem for the media.

Liechtenstein. As in other small states, media in Liechtenstein are confronted with financial restrictions and resource problems. The state support media in order to maintain diversity and professional media work. The leading media are still two newspapers which both have close ties to on leading party or the other.

Luxembourg. Traditionally close ties between politics and media exist in Luxembourg. $the two most-read newspapers are seen as close to two main parties, and the majority of the national press belongs to two publishing houses. Also it is hard for journalists to get first-hand information from the government.

Malta. Political parties own TV stations in Malta, and some newspapers lean to on political party or another. In particular, the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 and the circumstances surrounding it have dealt a blow to press freedom in Malta and its World Press Freedom ranking.

Montenegro. As in other European small states, media are highly aligned with politics.

San Marino. Media in San Marino face financial restrictions and resource problems. And as in many other small states, there are close ties between politics and media– three newspapers are still in interaction with leading parties. State subsidies to support and maintain media diversity and professional media work are in place.

We have seen that the differences between the European small states are considerable in many aspects. Despite their smallness as a common denominator, they differed, for example, in voter turnout in elections, direct democratic rights and their application, the number of members of parliament, the number of municipalities or even the degree of freedom of the press. On the other hand, they also show parallels, for example with regard to the right to vote, which in most states is valid from the age of 18 and is linked to residence in the respective state. In most countries, there are also close links between politics and the media, so that the media are often unable to fulfil their role as the fourth power as desired.

Okay. Then let's see what you could remember from this lesson. Please tick the appropriate answer and you will see whether you are right or wrong.

Liechtenstein
The Principality of Liechtenstein
Popular votes
Parliament Elections
Liechtenstein Institute