2014 European Parliament election

European Parliament election, 2014

June 2014
All seats to the European Parliament
Leader No presidential nominee yet No presidential nominee yet No presidential nominee yet Party EPP PES ALDE Alliance EPP S&D ALDE Last election 265 seats and 8 observers 183 seats and 5 observers 84 seats   File:European Greens logo.svg Leader No presidential nominee yet No presidential nominee yet No presidential nominee yet Party Green AECR Left Alliance Greens/EFA ECR GUE/NGL Last election 55 seats and 2 observers 54 seats and 1 observer 35 seats   File:Europe of Freedom and Democracy logo.jpg Leader No presidential nominee yet Party MELD Alliance EFD Last election 30 seats

Elections to the European Parliament will be held in all member states of the European Union (EU) between 5 and 8 June 2014, unless the Council acting unanimously decides to change the dates. It will be the eighth Europe-wide election to the European Parliament since the first direct elections in 1979.

Candidates for Commission president

The Lisbon treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, provides that the European Parliament shall elect the European Commission president, head of the "EU Executive", on the basis of a proposal made by the European Council taking into account the European elections (article 17, paragraph 7 of the TEU). This provision will apply for the first time for the 2014 elections.

Basing on these new provisions, only one European party has already committed to designate its frontrunner and nominee for Commission president ahead of the 2014 election: the Party of European Socialists.

Selection process and primaries

Even though PES is the only party currently engaged in selecting a candidate for 2014, the debate about how to proceed to such a selection takes place in many other parties:

• The PES primaries will take place in January 2014.

Following the defeat of the Party of European Socialists during the European elections of June 2009, the PES Congress gathering in Brussels in November 2011 made the decision that PES would designate its candidate for Commission president through internal primaries taking place in January 2014 in each of its member parties and organisations. Member parties and organisations are free to determine their own voting process, including by opening it to non-members.

• In 2004, a former British Conservative MEP, Tom Spencer, advocated for American-style primaries in the European People's Party.

Different models of selection or primaries may be considered for a non-unitary political system such as the European Union:

• a closed-door centralised party decision. Presidential nominees would be designated by the European parties' decision-making bodies.
• A public centralised party decision. Under this model, the selection of the candidate is still made at the level of the party's bodies, but candidates are formally known in advance to allow for a collective debate.
• Closed primary. A closed primary would allow all individual party members (in this case, the members of national parties constitutive of the European political party) to designate the party nominee themselves.
• Open primary. A European party embarking on an open primary would enable any European citizen to elect its presidential nominee.
• A decentralised primary election such as (American-style primaries). Such a model allows to organise votes on a state-by-state basis, over several weeks, each national party remaining relatively free to define how it will decide itself between the different contenders, by giving them votes or electing pledged delegates.

The European think tank Notre Europe also evokes the idea that European political parties should designate their candidates for Vice-president / High representative of the Union for foreign affairs. This would lead European parties to have "presidential tickets" on the American model.

Possible presidential candidates for 2014

So far, few politicians have been mentioned or have express the desire of being candidate for Commission president with a view to the 2014 election. According to Financial Times Deutschland, the following names are considered:

• European People's Party: Donald Tusk, Viviane Reding, Valdis Dombrovskis
• Party of European Socialists: David Miliband, Martin Schulz, José Luis Zapatero, Margot Wallström
• Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party: Guy Verhofstadt
• European Green Party: Daniel Cohn Bendit

Other alliances, such as the national parties forming the parliamentary group Europe of Freedom and Democracy, are envisaging Nigel Farage to lead their campaign.

ELDR candidate

Verhofstadt was considered to be the likely nominee, but an ELDR meeting held in Dublin from 8 to 10 November 2012 did not agree to formally nominate him yet; concerns voiced included the fact that it was considered unlikely that Verhofstadt would have a chance of getting elected as President of the European Commission, as Anders Fogh Rasmussen (the incumbent Secretary General of NATO) was expected to be appointed to the post of President of the European Council or High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy after the 2014 election, and two liberal politicians in the EU's top ranks were not expected to be considered acceptable. While a compromise position was reached (to nominate a candidate for Commission President "in time for the 2014 European Parliamentary election campaign"), the corresponding resolution was not passed due to disagreements on other points included in the resolution.

Constitutional issues

Apportionment of seats

Apportionment in the European Parliament

Constituency	2007	2009	Dec. 2011	1st July 2013	A. Duff's 1st prop. for 2014	A. Duff's 2nd prop.
						2014	2019	2024
Pan-European	-	-	-	-	25	-	-	-
Germany	99	99	99	99	96	96	96	96
France	78	72	74	74	83	79	83	83
United Kingdom	78	72	73	73	80	76	79	80
Italy	78	72	73	73	78	75	78	78
Spain	54	50	54	54	61	58	61	61
Poland	54	50	51	51	51	51	51	51
Romania	35	33	33	33	31	31	31	31
Netherlands	27	25	26	26	25	25	25	25
Greece	24	22	22	22	19	20	19	19
Belgium	24	22	22	22	18	20	19	19
Portugal	24	22	22	22	18	20	18	18
Czech Republic	24	22	22	22	18	20	18	18
Hungary	24	22	22	22	17	20	18	17
Sweden	19	18	20	20	17	18	17	17
Austria	18	17	19	19	16	17	16	16
Bulgaria	18	17	18	18	15	16	14	14
Denmark	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	12
Slovakia	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	12
Finland	14	13	13	13	12	12	12	12
Ireland	13	12	12	12	11	11	11	11
Croatia	-	-	-	12	11	11	11	11
Lithuania	13	12	12	12	9	10	9	9
Latvia	9	8	9	9	8	8	8	8
Slovenia	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8
Estonia	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7
Cyprus	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Luxembourg	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Malta	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6
total	785	736	754	766	776	751	751	751

The article 14 of the Treaty of Lisbon lays down that '"The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union’s citizens. They shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President. Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six members per Member State. No Member State shall be allocated more than ninety-six seats."'

It had been the stated desire of the member-state governments to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon before the 2009 election so that its articles governing the European Parliament could enter force as of this election. However, this was blocked by the Irish rejection of the treaty in a referendum. Therefore, in June 2009, the European Parliament was elected under the rules of the Treaty of Nice, which foresaw 736 seats, instead of the 751 foreseen in the Treaty of Lisbon.

The Lisbon Treaty was subsequently ratified, and provisional measures were ratified in December 2011 to give the additional seats to the "increasing" countries already before the 2014 elections, without withdrawing the 3 extra-seats of Germany. These 18 additional MEPs brought the number of MEPs to 754 for a transitional period until 2014. These 18 "phantom MEPs" would first have an observer statute, before becoming full members of parliament if an additional protocol is ratified by 2014.

As a consequence, the 2014 election will be the first to apply the apportionment of seats foreseen in application of the Lisbon treaty.

However, the accession of Croatia that is due to take place on 1st of July 2013 if all member states ratify the accession treaty by then will force the EU to review the distribution of seats within the European Parliament as the number of seats will reach 766 with this new member state, exceeding the ceiling of 751 seats laid down by article 14 of the Treaty on the European Union.

MEP Andrew Duff (ELDR, UK) tabled two reports in March 2011 and September 2012 proposing new aportionments of seats (see opposite table). Decisions on the aportionment of seats within the Parliament are governed by article 14 of the Treaty on the European Union establishing that '"The European Council shall adopt by unanimity, on the initiative of the European Parliament and with its consent, a decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament"', respecting the principle of degressive proportionality, the threshold of 6 MEPs for smaller member states and the limit of 96 MEPs of bigger member states.

EU electoral law

Since October 2008, MEP Andrew Duff (ELDR, UK) has advocated within the European Parliament for a reform of EU electoral law for the 2014 elections. He has been nominated rapporteur, as the European Parliament has the right of initiative in this field ruled by unanimity in the Council.

After the 2009 election, Andrew Duff proposed a new version of his report, which was adopted by the parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) in April 2011. However, the plenary session of the Parliament referred the report back to the AFCO committee in July 2011. A third version of the report was published in September 2011 and adopted by the AFCO committee in January 2012, but was withdrawn before being discussed in plenary in March 2012 for fear that it would likely be turned down.

The report proposes the following measures:

• the election of 25 MEP by a single constituency formed of the whole territory of the European Union. The election within the single constituency would respect the following criteria:
  • election on the basis of pan-European lists composed of candidates drawn from at least one third of the States,
  • adequate gender representation.
  • each elector would be enabled to cast one vote for the EU-wide list in addition to their vote for the national or regional list.
• to bring forward the timing of the European elections from June to May.
• amendments to the 1965 Protocol on Privileges and Immunities with a view to establishing a uniform supranational regime for Members of the European Parliament.

It is unlikely that this report will be adopted before the 2014 European elections.

Eligibility

Each Member State has different rules determining who can vote for and run as the European Parliamentary candidates.

Every EU citizen residing in an EU country of which he/she is not a national has the right to vote and to stand as a candidate in European Parliamentary elections in his/her country of residence, under the same conditions as nationals of that country - this right is enshrined in Article 39 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. In addition, the right to vote is included in Articles 20(1) and 22(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

It is therefore possible for a person to have the choice of voting in more than one EU member state. For example, a Portuguese citizen who studies at university in France and lives at home outside term-time in the family home in the United Kingdom has the option of voting in the European Parliamentary election in France, Portugal or the United Kingdom. In this scenario, although the Portuguese citizen qualifies to vote in three EU member states, he/she is only permitted to cast one vote in one of the member states.

Member state	Eligible voters	Eligible candidates
Belgium	Belgian citizens aged 18 or over on polling day resident in Belgium and entered in the population register of a Belgian commune on or before 31 March 2014. Belgian citizens aged 18 or over on polling day resident outside Belgium, who have sent an application to vote to the Belgian diplomatic or consular post in their country of residence up to 16 days before polling day. European Union citizens resident in Belgium, aged 18 or over on polling day, entered in the population register or in the foreigners' register of their commune of residence and enrolled in the electoral register on or before 31 March 2014. Voting is compulsory and failing to vote can lead to a fine of up to €137.50.	Belgian and European Union citizens aged 21 or over on polling day who speak French, Dutch or German.
Bulgaria	Bulgarian citizens who have attained the age of 18 years by polling day, have resided in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State of the European Union at least during the last three months, are not interdicted and do not serve a custodial sentence Each national of a Member State of the European Union, who is not a Bulgarian citizen, shall have the right to elect Members of the European Parliament for the Republic of Bulgaria if the said person has attained the age of 18 years by polling day, is not interdicted, does not serve a custodial sentence, enjoys a durable or permanent residence status for the Republic of Bulgaria, has resided in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State of the European Union at least during the last three months, is not deprived of the right to elect in the Member State of which the person is a national, and has stated in advance, by a declaration in writing, the desire thereof to exercise his or her right to vote within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.	Bulgarian citizen who has attained the age of 21 years by polling day, does not hold the citizenship of any State which is not a Member State of the European Union, is not interdicted, does not serve a custodial sentence, has a permanent address in the Republic of Bulgaria, and has resided in the Republic of Bulgaria of in another Member State of the European Union at least during the last six months. Any national of a Member State of the European Union, who is not a Bulgarian citizen, has attained the age of 21 years by polling day, does not hold the citizenship of any State which is not a Member State of the European Union, is not interdicted, does not serve a custodial sentence, is not deprived of the right to be elected in the Member State of which the person is a national, enjoys a durable or permanent residence status for the Republic of Bulgaria, has resided in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State of the European Union at least during the last six months, and has stated, by a declaration in writing, the desire thereof to be elected.
Czech Republic	Czech and European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are registered in the register of citizens for at least 45 days before polling day, unless a statutory limitation is imposed for reasons of protection of health or withdrawal or legal capacity.	Czech and European Union citizens
Denmark	Danish citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in Denmark or another EU member state, unless deprived of legal capacity. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day and resident in Denmark, unless deprived of legal capacity.	Those who are eligible to vote, unless they have been convicted of an action which in the public opinion makes them unworthy of being a member of the European Parliament.
Estonia	Estonian and European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day and whose address is entered in the population register. A person who has been divested of their active legal capacity with regard to the right to vote and a person who has been convicted of a crime and is serving sentence in a penal institution, cannot vote.	At least 21 years of age and satisfying the requirements of the right to cast a vote, except members of the Defence Forces.
Finland	Every Finnish citizen aged 18 or over on polling day, regardless of domicile. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day and who are enrolled on the voting register in Finland and whose municipality of residence, as defined by law, is in Finland on the 51st day before election day, unless he/she has lost the right to vote in the Member State whose citizen he/she is.	Finnish citizens entitled to vote and not legally incompetent. European Union citizens who are entitled to vote, registered with and entered into the voting register in Finland and not lost the right to stand as a candidate in elections in his/her home state.
France	French citizens aged 18 or over on polling day resident in France and enrolled in the electoral register on or before 31 December 2013. French citizens aged 18 or over on polling day resident outside France and entered either in the register of French citizens living overseas (le registre des Français établis hors de France) or in the consular register of electors (la liste électorale consulaire) on or before 31 December 2013. European Union citizens resident in France, aged 18 or over on polling day and enrolled in the electoral register on or before 31 December 2013.	French and European Union citizens aged 23 or over.
Gibraltar	British, European Union and Commonwealth citizens who are aged 18 or over on the day they apply to be entered in the register of European Parliamentary electors in Gibraltar.	British, Cypriot, Irish and Maltese citizens aged 18 or over on the day they submit their nomination papers. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on the day they submit their nomination papers whose home address is in Gibraltar. Commonwealth citizens resident in Gibraltar, who either do not require a permit or certificate to enter or remain in Gibraltar (except if that document is not required due to Section 14(1) of the Immigration Control Act), or have a certificate of permanent residence in Gibraltar, and are aged 18 or over on the day they submit their nomination papers.
Greece	Greek citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in Greece and registered in the electoral roll in a Greek municipality or community, unless deprived of legal capacity. Greek citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in another EU member state, registered in the electoral roll in a Greek municipality or community and have submitted an application to vote overseas to the Greek embassy or consulate in their country of residence on or before 31 March 2014, unless deprived of legal capacity. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day, resident in Greece and registered in the electoral roll on or before 3 March 2014. Voting is compulsory.	Greek and European Union citizens aged 25 or over, unless deprived of legal capacity.
Ireland	Irish, British and European Union citizens who are ordinarily resident in the Republic of Ireland on 1 September 2013, aged 18 or over on polling day and included on the Register of Electors. Irish citizens who are officials on duty abroad (and their spouses) who are registered on the postal voters list.	Irish, British and European Union citizens
Italy	Italian and European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in Italy and enrolled in the electoral list of their town of residence up to 19 days before polling day. Italian citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in other EU member states and have submitted an application to the Italian consulate up to 18 days before polling day. Italian citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident outside the European Union for the purpose of work, study or living with family and have submitted an application to the Italian consulate up to 18 days before polling day.	Italian citizens aged 25 or over on polling day. European Union citizens aged 25 or over on polling day and not deprived of the right to stand in their home country.
Luxembourg	Luxembourgian citizens aged 18 or over on polling day resident in Luxembourg or overseas and enrolled in the electoral list up to 87 days before polling day. European Union citizens resident in Luxembourg for at least 2 years, aged 18 or over on polling day and enrolled in the electoral list up to 87 days before polling day. Voting is compulsory.	Luxembourgian citizens aged 18 or over on polling day and resident in Luxembourg. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day and resident in Luxembourg for at least 5 years.
Portugal	Portuguese citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in Portugal and registered to vote. Portuguese citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident outside Portugal and registered to vote. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in Portugal and registered to vote.	Portuguese and European Union citizens.
Spain	Spanish citizens aged 18 or over on polling day. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are recorded in the register kept by the Municipal Council of their municipality of residence (Padrón) and have formally expressed their wish to vote in the European Parliament election in Spain.	Spanish and European Union citizens
Sweden	Swedish citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are, or at some time have been, registered residents in Sweden. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are current registered residents in Sweden and have submitted a notification to be listed on the electoral roll.	Swedish and European Union citizens
United Kingdom	British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens living in the UK who are registered to vote and are aged 18 or over on polling day. European Union citizens (except British, Cypriot, Irish and Maltese citizens) living in the UK who are registered to vote, aged 18 or over on polling day and have submitted a European Parliament voter registration form. British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens registered to vote at their ordinary address in the UK but temporarily away (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital), and are aged 18 or over on polling day. European Union citizens registered to vote at their ordinary address in the UK but temporarily away (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital), who are aged 18 or over on polling day and have submitted a European Parliament voter registration form. British citizens living outside the UK who are registered to vote as overseas electors.	British, Cypriot, Irish and Maltese citizens aged 18 or over on the day they submit their nomination papers. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on the day they submit their nomination papers whose home address is in the UK. Commonwealth citizens with indefinite leave to remain or who do not need leave to remain in the UK and are aged 18 or over on the day they submit their nomination papers.

External links

• European Union website