Success hidden within the EU elections

The aftermath of the European elections indicates a strong surge to the right, however one story which was not highlighted, was the historic rise in the number of BME MEPs from the UK.

Even though numbers of BME MEPs across Europe is still alarmingly low, it is fantastic to observe that 7 BME MEPs from the UK were elected, which is 3 more than in previous elections and which is approximately half of all BME MEPs across Europe.

Neena Gill, Claude Moraes, Afzal Khan, Sajjad Karim, Syed Kamall, Nirj Deva and Amjad Bashir have all been selected to represent the UK and represent a voice for British interests within European politics. One significant challenge will be to address the effectiveness of anti-discrimination laws and to promote equality and diversity as concern over the rise in racism and xenophobia across Britain and Europe continues.

A primary concern is the growth of the far right parties that have gained ground in a majority of EU Member States. Of note is the Front National (FN) in France winning almost 25 percent of the vote, about a third of the total number of French seats.

Although the FN’s triumph will give President Francois Hollande less power in negotiating significant issues in Europe, the political consequences may be felt more strongly in national politics than on the EU stage. One outcome could be that France’s conservative parties are dragged even further to the right, leading to increased demands to crack down on immigration.

As European Network Against Racism Chair Sarah Isal stated:

When there is such support for racist and xenophobic parties – up to 25% in certain Member States such as France, it should set alarm bells ringing for mainstream parties and for society at large. We cannot allow 12% of the European population to be unfairly treated as scapegoats, discriminated against, and worse, become the victims of racist violence.”

Across Europe, migrants and minority ethnic people face an unequal treatment in the ways institutions, practices and policies deliver and organise public services such as health, education and housing provision. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the lifestyles of people from minority backgrounds are more likely to result in poorer outcomes.

Health outcomes, for example, are determined by many elements: socio-economic status, education, housing and working conditions all impact on standards of living and emotional well-being. Furthermore, unfair or inappropriate services can harm the health of migrants.

The left liberal daily Libération claims that only a dialogue between citizens and politicians can renew people’s belief in democracy:

The virus that has contaminated France for years threatens to spread quickly in a Union in which anger at austerity and fear of foreigners is growing day by day. The FN's success is proof of the party's ability to mobilise voters, its deep roots in the community and the durability of its xenophobic ideas.”

At a time of financial, economic and social crisis, Europe’s citizens feel insecure and sometimes, mistakenly, consider diversity as one of the main obstacles that threatens their established ways of life. People feel a sense of helplessness and perceive their governments to be unable to stem the flow of immigration.

It is therefore evident that discrimination throughout Europe remains, however, just the fact that there has been almost a 50% increase in BME candidates in Britain, and that a female BME MEP as well, indicates that the results of the European elections 2014 could be a sign of movement towards greater equality in Britain. However, there is no room for complacency and low turnout and the success of the far right are alarming indications that there is still a lot work to do.

The danger here is that the MEP’s of far right parties can receive public EU money, which could result in the establishment of further populist political groups in the EU Parliament, and ultimately lead to them being in charge of fundamental rights issues.

Nothing happens just because we are aware of inequality and discrimination; therefore BME candidates across Europe face a difficult challenge making this continent a more diverse place.

Viktor Dúbrava