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5 September 2008
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European Parliament Elections 2004 [archived][de

Published: Monday 17 May 2004   

The European Parliament elections were held between 10-13 June 2004. As a result of the enlargement of the European Union to 25 countries, 732 members of the European Parliament have been chosen. For an overview of the main challenges and results of the EP elections 2004 (voter turnout, "Europeanness" of the election campaign, national impacts of the elections, division of power in the EP), see our LinksDossier on the EP elections results.

More on this topic:

Milestones:

 

  • The European elections will be held between 10-13 June 2004:
  • Thursday 10 June: Netherlands and Great Britain
  • Friday 11 June: Ireland, Czech Republic
  • Saturday 12 June: Latvia, Malta and Italy
  • Sunday 13 June: in the remaining Member States.
 

Policy Summary Links



Since 1979, the European Parliament is directly elected every five years. This year, ten new countries will be sending members to the European Parliament. These countries already have had observers in the Parliament since 2003. The European Parliament now counts 624 members and 162 observers. After the elections, it will have 732 members.

Here is a table indicating the new distribution of seats per country after the elections (as defined by the Treaty of Accession), as well as links to current members and observers:

 

 
Country MEPs Current
Austria 18 21external
Belgium 24 25external
Cyprus 6 6external
Czech Republic 24 24external
Denmark 14 16external
Estonia 6 6external
Finland 14 16external
France 78 87external
Germany 99 99external
Greece 24 25external
Hungary 24 24external
Ireland 13 15external
Italy 78 87external
Latvia 9 9external
Lithuania 13 13external
Luxembourg 6 6external
Malta 5 5external
Netherlands 27 31external
Poland 54 54external
Portugal 24 25external
Slovakia 14 14external
Slovenia 7 7external
Spain 54 64external
Sweden 19 22external
United Kingdom 78 87external

Issues:



Power division in the next EP

One of the main issues of these elections is the new power division in the European Parliament. Currently, the Christian Democrats-Conservative PPE-DE Group is the largest party, followed by the Socialist PSE and the Liberal ELDR. See the

Parliament's overview of seats per groupexternal . With the uncertainties of unprecendented European elections in the new Member States and possible shifting alliances in the traditional parliamentary groups (eg. UK Conservatives to stay in the EPP Group?), it is impossible to predict which party family will dominate the next parliament.



Voter turnout for the elections

Since direct elections for the European Parliament started in 1979, the overall voter turnout has fallen steadily. The following table shows, by country, the turnout figures for each of the five elections since 1979:

Country 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999
Belgium (voting compulsory) 91.4 92.2 90.7 90.7 91.0
Denmark 47.8 52.2 47.4 52.9 50.4
France 60 .7 56.7 48.8 52.7 46.8
Germany 65.7 56.8 62.3 60.0 45.2
Greece 78.6 77.2 80.1 80.4 75.3
Ireland 63.6 47.6 68.3 44.0 50.7
Italy 84.9 83.4 81.4 74.8 70.8
Luxembourg 88.9 87.0 96.2 88.5 85.8
Netherlands 58.1 50.6 47.5 35.6 29.9
Portugal   72.4 51.2 35.5 40.4
Spain   68.9 54.7 59.1 64.4
Austria       67.7 49.0
Finland       57.6 30.1
Sweden       41.6 38.8
UK 32.2 31.8 36.6 36.4 24.0


Positions:

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Links Policy Summary

Letters To The Editor
Law is not a tool box for politics to indulge in
<a href="http://www.eurac.edu" rel="nofollow">Gabriel N. Toggenburg, EURAC</a>
Not feasible: CEPS Plan B for saving the Lisbon Treaty
Jim Murray, Former Director, BEUC
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