Survey: Parliament 'powerful', but 'what does it do?'[de] 

Only 10% of the citizens surveyed across the 27 member states were even aware that the next elections will take place in 2009, while just 2% could name the right month (June), according to the poll. 75% admitted that they did not have a clue. 

Most citizens were also unaware of when the European Parliament was created (only 32% knew) or the basis on which MEPs are elected. Only 33% answered correctly that MEPs take their seat according to their political affinity and not to their nationality as assumed by almost half of the respondents (44%). 

On the other hand, citizens are quite familiar with Parliament's competencies in terms of the EU budget (60% answered correctly) and enlargement of the bloc (68%). 

However, the figures differ widely from state to state. While in Greece, at least, 43% responded correctly that the Parliament was created in 1979, few citizens in the two newest member states, Bulgaria (just 8%) and Romania (10%), knew this. 

Citizens of the countries that joined the Union in 2004 generally display lower knowledge about the Parliament than those in the old member states, according to the survey, although even in the old member countries citizens rated their knowledge of Parliament as average at most. 

73% of the people interviewed admitted that they feel fairly or very badly informed about the Parliament's activities. Even among those citizens who said they have a good knowledge of the Parliament, only 41% described themselves as well-informed. 

The lack of knowledge may also explain the relatively low turnout in the last elections. Participation rates have consistently dropped since the first elections in 1979. 

MEPs and researchers agreed that the key to higher voter turnout is better informing the citizens. This, they said, required increased mobilisation, higher party activity and better media coverage (EurActiv 09/01/08).

Despite the lack of knowledge about the Parliament, EU citizens consider it to be the most powerful of the EU's institutions (43%), ranking far ahead of the Commission (14%) or the Council (10%). Viewed over the last ten years, almost half of the citizens agree that the Parliament's role has been strengthened, with only citizens in the UK, Austria and Ireland opposing a stronger parliamentary role in the future. 

Bearing these answers in mind, it does not come as surprise that a relative majority also wanted to see the Parliament become the greatest decision-making power (47% favour the Parliament in this role, with only 8% and 9% giving preference to the Commission or the Council respectively). 

The German Socialist chairman of Parliament's constitutional affairs committee, Jo Leinen, identified the lack of truly European candidates as the biggest obstacle to a higher turnout at the voting booth. "What we need is truly European election campaigns across political families," he claimed. 

German Liberal MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis mentioned electronic voting as one possible tool to make voting easier and more attractive. "It does not matter where people vote, it only matters that they vote," he said. 

European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering added that the politicians need to make clear the 'extra value' of every single vote to increase the turnout. 

Spanish MEP and Parliament Vice-President Alejo Vidal-Quadras (EPP) said making the case to citizens as to why they should vote in elections to the EP would be a never-ending and thankless task that would not simply change from one day to the other.