Elections to the European Parliament
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Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage. 751 MEPs[1] are elected to the European Parliament which has been directly elected since 1979. No other EU institution is directly elected, with the Council of the European Union and the European Council being only indirectly legitimated through national elections.[2] While Europarties have the right to campaign EU-wide for the European elections, campaigns still take place through national election campaigns, advertising national delegates from national parties.
Apportionment
The allocation of seats to each member state is based on the principle of degressive proportionality, so that, while the size of the population of each country is taken into account, smaller states elect more MEPs than is proportional to their populations. As the numbers of MEPs to be elected by each country have arisen from treaty negotiations, there is no precise formula for the apportionment of seats among member states. No change in this configuration can occur without the unanimous consent of all governments.[3][4]
European Parliament Apportionment changes between the Treaty of Nice and the Treaty of Lisbon (as calculated for purposes of the 2009 European Elections) | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Member state | 2007 Nice |
2009 Nice |
2014 Lisbon |
2014c + Croatia |
Member state | 2007 Nice |
2009 Nice |
2014 Lisbon |
2014c + Croatia |
Member state | 2007 Nice |
2009 Nice |
2014 Lisbon |
2014c + Croatia | ||
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99 | 99 | 96 | 96 | ![]() |
24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | ![]() |
14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | ||
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78 | 72 | 74 | 74 | ![]() |
24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | ![]() |
– | – | – | 11 | ||
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78 | 72 | 73 | 73 | ![]() |
24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | ![]() |
13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | ||
![]() |
78 | 72 | 73 | 73 | ![]() |
24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | ![]() |
13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | ||
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54 | 50 | 54 | 54 | ![]() |
19 | 18 | 20 | 20 | ![]() |
9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | ||
![]() |
54 | 50 | 51 | 51 | ![]() |
18 | 17 | 19 | 18 | ![]() |
7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | ||
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35 | 33 | 33 | 32 | ![]() |
18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | ![]() |
6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
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27 | 25 | 26 | 26 | ![]() |
14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | ![]() |
6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
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24 | 22 | 22 | 21 | ![]() |
14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | ![]() |
6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
Italicised countries are divided into sub-national constituencies, except France which changed to full-country voting in 2019. | ||||||||||||||||
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5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||||||
Total: | 785 | 736 | 751b | 751b |
Voting system
There is no uniform voting system for the election of MEPs; rather, each member state is free to choose its own system, subject to certain restrictions:[3]
- The system must be a form of proportional representation, under either the party list or the single transferable vote system.
- The electoral area may be subdivided if this will not generally affect the proportional nature of the voting system.[3]
Country by country
Most of the member states of the European Union elect their MEPs with a single constituency covering the entire state, using party-list proportional representation. There is however a great variety of electoral procedures: some countries use the highest averages method of proportional representation, some use the largest remainder method, some open lists and others closed. In addition, the method of calculating the quota and the election threshold vary from country to country. Countries with multiple constituencies are:
- Belgium is split into 3 constituencies: the Dutch-speaking electoral college, the French-speaking electoral college, and the German-speaking electoral college. The first two of these elect their MEPs using party list PR, but the German-speaking constituency only has 1 member, who is therefore not elected by a proportional method.
- France is split into 8 constituencies, each electing its members by party list PR.
- Republic of Ireland is split into three constituencies and uses the Single transferable vote.
- In Malta, MEPs are elected by single transferable vote.[citation needed]
- The United Kingdom is split into constituencies representing Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and each of the regions of England. Northern Ireland uses the single transferable vote while the other constituencies use party lists.
Germany, Italy and Poland use a different system, whereby parties are awarded seats based on their nationwide vote as in all of the states which elect members from a single constituency; these seats are given to the candidates on regional lists. With the number of seats for each party known, these are given to the candidates on the regional lists based on the number of votes from each region towards the party's nationwide total, awarded proportionally to the regions. These subdivisions are not strictly constituencies, as they do not decide how many seats each party is awarded, but are districts that the members represent once elected. The number of members for each region is decided dynamically after the election, and depends on voter turnout in each region. A region with high turnout will result in more votes for the parties there, which will result in a greater number of MEPs elected for that region.[6]
Europarties
The European Union has a multi-party system involving a number of ideologically diverse Europarties. As no one Europarty has ever gained power alone, their affiliated parliamentary groups must work with each other to pass legislation. Since no pan-European government is formed as a result of the European elections, long-term coalitions have never occurred.
Europarties have the exclusive right to campaign for the European elections; their parliamentary groups are strictly forbidden to campaign and to spend funds on any campaign-related activity. For the 2014 EP election, Europarties decided to put forward a candidate for President of the European Commission; each candidate will lead the pan-European campaign of the Europarty. While no legal obligation exists to force the European Council to propose the candidate of the strongest party to the EP, it is assumed that the Council will have no other choice than to accept the voters decision.
The two major parties are the centre-right European People's Party and the centre-left Party of European Socialists. They form the two largest groups, (called EPP and S&D respectively) along with other smaller parties. There are numerous other groups, including communists, greens, regionalists, conservatives, Liberals and eurosceptics. Together they form the seven recognised groups in the parliament.[7] MEPs that are not members of groups are known as non-inscrits.
Voter behaviour
Analysts contend that European elections are fought on national issues, and used by voters to punish their governments mid-term, making European Parliament elections national elections of second rank.[8] Turnout has been falling steadily since the first elections in 1979, indicating increased apathy about the Parliament despite its increase in power over that period. The turnout is an increasingly important issue [to whom?]. The turnout has constantly fallen in every EU election since 1979. In 2009, the overall turnout was at 43%, down from 45.5% in 2004. In Britain the turnout was just 34.3%, down from 38% in 2004. Despite falling below 50% since 1999, turnout is not yet as low as that of the US Midterm elections which usually falls below 40%. However, the comparison with the US voter turnout is hampered due to the fact that the US President is elected in separate and direct elections (presidential system), whereas the President of the European Commission is only approved by the European Parliament (parliamentary system), giving the European Parliament elections considerable weight. Some, such as former President of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, have also noted that turnout in the 1999 election was higher than the previous US presidential election.[9][10] It is hoped though that by strengthening the powers of the European Parliament in the election process for Presidents of the European Commission, European Parliament elections would gain relevance and hence turnout should increase.[11][12][13]
Results
List of elections (excluding by-elections) |
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List of European Parliament elections by state |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/6red8l0wxufm83swfpzorzm5w63wq0t.png)
Historical percentage results in union-wide elections of the three major groups by region.[14]
REGION | 1979 | 1984 | 1989 | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2009 |
3.6 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 22 | 35.3 | 31.2 | 10.9 | |
Northern[15] | 3.6 | 2.7 | 4.5 | 6.8 | 16.7 | 18.1 | 20.3 |
23.2 | 33 | 45.5 | 56.8 | 27.6 | 23.9 | 21 | |
33.6 | 30.9 | 26.7 | 31.9 | 36.4 | 34.9 | 37.3 | |
Western[16] | 6.5 | 10.6 | 12 | 8.5 | 5.2 | 11.9 | 12.5 |
34.1 | 32.7 | 32.7 | 29.9 | 27.9 | 30.2 | 20.8 | |
37 | 34.3 | 29.6 | 25.9 | 39.8 | 38.2 | 45.2 | |
Southern[17] | 6.2 | 4.8 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 5 | 7.9 | 5 |
16 | 21 | 29.1 | 29.9 | 30.8 | 33 | 35 | |
- | - | - | - | - | 46.4 | 41 | |
Central and South-Eastern[18] | - | - | - | - | - | 14.3 | 10 |
- | - | - | - | - | 21.4 | 23.7 | |
26 | 25.3 | 23.4 | 27.7 | 37.2 | 36.9 | 36 | |
Total | 9.8 | 7.1 | 9.5 | 7.6 | 8 | 12.4 | 11.4 |
27.6 | 30 | 34.2 | 34.9 | 28.8 | 28.3 | 25 | |
Turnout | 63 | 61 | 58.5 | 56.8 | 49.4 | 45.5 | 43 |
Legend: [ ] Socialist (PES/S&D) – [ ] Liberal (ELDR/ALDE) – [ ] People's (EPP/EPP-ED)
Percental turnout in previous elections[19] |
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Proposed reforms
As of 2011 reforms by Liberal Democrat MEP Andrew Duff are being considered by Parliament which are seen as the most significant overhaul of the electoral system since elections began. 25 extra MEPs would be added on a transnational European list with its candidates being selected by the European party groups rather than national member parties. The candidate lists would have to represent a third of member states and are seen as a way to personalise and dramatise the elections to re-engage an apathetic electorate. Duff sees the next Commission President possibly coming from the transnational list. Duff's proposals also include a single electoral roll, regular reapportioning of seats, one set of immunity rules and the holding of elections in May rather than June. However, due to a waning of support and possible opposition from member states, Duff has taken the proposal back to committee to get broader support before putting them before the plenary in autumn 2011.[20]
Commission President
Election | Largest Group | President | Party |
1994 | PES | Jacques Santer | EPP |
1999 | EPP-ED | Romano Prodi | ELDR |
2004 | EPP | José Manuel Barroso | EPP |
2009 | EPP | José Manuel Barroso | EPP |
2014 | EPP | Jean-Claude Juncker | EPP |
The third Delors Commission had a short mandate, to bring the terms of the Commission in line with that of the Parliament. Under the European Constitution the European Council would have to take into account the results of the latest European elections and, furthermore, the Parliament would ceremonially "elect", rather than simply approve, the Council's proposed candidate. This was taken as the parliament's cue to have its parties run with candidates for the President of the European Commission with the candidate of the winning party being proposed by the Council.[21]
This was partly put into practice in 2004 when the European Council selected a candidate from the political party which won that year's election. However at that time only one party had run with a specific candidate: the European Green Party, who had the first true pan-European political party with a common campaign,[22] put forward Daniel Cohn-Bendit.[21] However the fractious nature of the other political parties led to no other candidates, the People's Party only mentioned four or five people they'd like to be President.[23] The Constitution failed ratification but these amendments have been carried over to the Treaty of Lisbon which came into force in 2009.
There are plans to strengthen the European political parties[13] in order for them to propose candidates for the 2009 election.[12][24] The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party have already indicated, in their October 2007 congress, their intention for forward a candidate for the post as part of a common campaign.[25] They failed to do so however the European People's Party did select Barroso as their candidate and, as the largest party, Barroso's turn was renewed. The Socialists, disappointed at the 2009 election, agreed to put forward a candidate for Commission President at all subsequent elections. There is a campaign within that party to have open primaries for said candidate.[26]
In February 2008, President Barroso admitted there was a problem in legitimacy and that, despite having the same legitimacy as Prime Ministers in theory, in practice it was not the case. The low turnout creates a problem for the President's legitimacy, with the lack of a "European political sphere", but analysis claim that if citizens were voting for a list of candidates for the post of president, turn out would be much higher than that seen in recent years.[27]
With the Lisbon Treaty now in-force, Europarties are obliged from now-on to put forward a candidate for President of the European Commission; each Presidential candidate will, in fact, lead the pan-European campaign of the Europarty.
The President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek proposed in 2010 that Commissioners be directly elected, by member states placing their candidate at the top of their voting lists in European elections. That would give them individually, and the body as a whole, a democratic mandate.[28]
Eligibility
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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. To this extent all EU countries keep electoral registers containing the names of all eligible voters in the specific region, to which eligible newcomers to the area can apply at any time to have their names added. EU citizens are then eligible to vote for the duration of their stay in that country.
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 |
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Austria |
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Belgium |
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Bulgaria |
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Croatia |
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Czech Republic |
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Denmark |
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Estonia |
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Finland |
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France |
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Germany |
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Greece |
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Hungary |
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Ireland |
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Italy |
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Luxembourg |
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Malta |
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Netherlands |
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Poland |
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Portugal |
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Romania |
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Spain |
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Sweden |
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United Kingdom |
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Polls
There are no polls yet. europeanmeter.wordpress.com is the only continuously updated website that gives out a prognosis based on national polls.[60] The website also takes a closer look on the results for the eurozone.[61]
See also
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References
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- ^ European Parliament: Welcome europarl.europa.eu
- ^ a b c The European Parliament: electoral procedures europarl.europa.eu Cite error: The named reference "europarl.europa.eu" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ The election of members of the European Parliament European Navigator
- ^ "Composition of the European Parliament with a view to the 2014 elections". Europa.eu. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ http://ispo.fss.muni.cz/uploads/EVS/010/EVS2_2010_4.pdf
- ^ MEPs by Member State and political group – sixth parliamentary term europarl.europa.eu
- ^ Reif, K. and Schmitt, H. (1980) ‘Nine Second-Order National Elections: A Conceptual Framework for the Analysis of European Election Results’. European Journal of Political Research, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 3–45.
- ^ Mulvey, Stephen (21 November 2003) The EU's democratic challenge BBC News
- ^ Q&A: European elections, BBC News 21 July 2004
- ^ Spongenberg, Helena (26 February 2007). "EU wants to dress up 2009 elections on TV". EU Observer. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
- ^ a b Palmer, John (10 January 2007). "Size shouldn't matter". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- ^ a b Mahony, Honor (27 June 2007). "European politics to get more political". EU Observer. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- ^ Europe Politique: Parlement européen (in French)
- ^ Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and United Kingdom
- ^ Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Netherlands
- ^ Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain
- ^ Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia
- ^ "Turnout 2014 - European Parliament". Results-elections2014.eu. 25 May 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ Mahony, Honor (7 July 2011) MEPs put off controversial electoral reform, EU Observer
- ^ a b Hughes, Kirsty. "Nearing Compromise as Convention goes into Final Week?" (PDF). EPIN. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
- ^ "European Greens Found European Greens". Deutsche Welle. 23 February 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
- ^ "The EP elections: Deepening the democratic deficit". Euractiv. 16 June 2004. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- ^ "Leadership of the EU". Federal Union. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ "Resolution ELDR Congress in Berlin 18–19&Nbsp;October&Nbsp;2007". ELDR party. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2008. [dead link]
- ^ Phillips, Leigh (12 August 2010). "Socialists want US-style primaries for commission president candidate". EU Observer. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- ^ Mahony, Honor (28 February 2008). "Barroso admits legitimacy problem for commission president post, The future for europe group proposed for a directly elected commission president by 2014 which was supported by 11 foreign minister from the EU even though the acknowledged in the text this was not the opinion of all member states in the group". EU Observer. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ^ Mahony, Honor (23 March 2010) EP president suggests election of future EU commissioners, EU Observer
- ^ "Wahlen - Europawahlen". BM.I. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Les conditions d'électorat pour les différentes élections - Elections européennes et régionales 2009". Ibz.rrn.fgov.be. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Le droit de vote des Belges résidant dans l'Union européenne et des citoyens européens résidant en Belgique, pour l'élection du Parlement Européen - Elections européennes et r". Ibz.rrn.fgov.be. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "L'obligation de vote - Elections européennes et régionales 2009". Ibz.rrn.fgov.be. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "La candidature pour les différentes élections - Elections européennes et régionales 2009". Ibz.rrn.fgov.be. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ a b "ELECTION CODE Promulgated, State Gazette No. 9/28.01.2011" (PDF). Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ The Bulgarian Election Code, (2011), as amended by Act to Amend and Supplement the Election Code (2011)
- ^ "Act to Amend and Supplement the Election Code (2011)". Legislationline.org. 2 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Republic of Croatia European Parliamentary Elections Act, Article 4 (Zakon o izborima zastupnika iz RH u Europski parlament, Članak 4)". Sabor.hr. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Republic of Croatia European Parliamentary Elections Act, Article 5 (Zakon o izborima zastupnika iz RH u Europski parlament, Članak 5)". Sabor.hr. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Information for citizens of other EU member states on voting in the European Parliament elections in the Czech Republic - Ministry of the interior of the Czech Republic". Mvcr.cz. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ Ministry of the Interior and Health: Elections to the European Parliament[dead link]
- ^ "Right to vote". Vvk.ee. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ Right to Vote and Compilation of the Voting Rights[dead link]
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- ^ "Service-Public.fr (Élections : Français domicilié à l'étranger)". Vosdroits.service-public.fr. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
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- ^ "Ministry of Interior - General Information". Ypes.gr. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Ministry of Interior - Information for Greek residents abroad". Ypes.gr. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Hellenic Republic Ministry of the Interior: EU Citizens". Ypes.gr. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Citizens Information: Registering to vote". Citizensinformation.ie. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "ELEZIONE DEI MEMBRI DEL PARLAMENTO EUROPEO SPETTANTI ALL'ITALIA" (PDF) (in Italian). Interno.it. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ Conditions de l'électorat - Site officiel des élections au Grand-Duché du Luxembourg - Mode d'emploi[dead link]
- ^ "S'inscrire sur les listes électorales pour les élections européennes - guichet.lu // Luxembourg - Participation aux élections européennes". Guichet.public.lu. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Etre candidat aux élections européennes". Guichet.public.lu. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ This based on a Dutch decision by the 'Kiesraad', which disallowed South Africa's John M. Coetzee and two other non-European candidates on the sole ground that they had no proof of legal residence.
- ^ "Lei Eleitoral para o Parlamento Europeu (Lei nº 14/87, de 29 Abril), Artigo 3º" (PDF). Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ^ "Elections to the European Parliament of June 2009" (PDF) (in Spanish). http://www.ine.es. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
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- ^ Valmyndigheten: Suffrage and electoral rolls[dead link]
- ^ a b "European Union citizens – European Parliament voter registration form (GB)" (PDF). http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|publisher=
- ^ "Guidance on standing for election to the European Parliament" (PDF). http://www.europarl.org.uk. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|publisher=
- ^ https://europeanmeter.wordpress.com/
- ^ https://europeanmeter.wordpress.com/eurolandpolls/
Statistics
Template:European Parliament election, 1979 - Statistics Template:European Parliament election, 1984 - Statistics Template:European Parliament election, 1989 - Statistics Template:European Parliament election, 1994 - Statistics Template:European Parliament election, 1999 - Statistics Template:European Parliament election, 2004 - Statistics Template:European Parliament election, 1979 - Delegation at 17 July 1979 Template:European Parliament election, 1984 - Delegation at 23 July 1984 Template:European Parliament election, 1989 - Delegation at 25 July 1989 Template:European Parliament election, 1994 - Delegation at 19 July 1994 Template:European Parliament election, 1999 - Delegation at 20 July 1999 Template:European Parliament election, 2004 - Delegation at 20 July 2004
External links
- Section devoted to the 2009 election on the European Parliament website
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- European Election Studies
- The European Parliament and Supranational Party System (Cambridge University Press 2002)
- Archive of European Integration (AEI) > Institutional Administration, Developments & Reform > Parliament > Elections