This is what is at stake in the European Parliament elections that end on Sunday
Nearly 400 million citizens of the European Union went to the polls this week to elect Members of the European Parliament, or Members of the European Parliament, in one of the largest global democratic events.
Far-right parties are trying to gain more power amid rising living costs and farmers’ discontent, while the wars in Gaza and Ukraine remain in voters’ minds.
One of the biggest questions is whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will continue to lead as the public face of the EU.
Here’s a look at the election and the biggest issues at stake:
When is the vote?
EU elections are held every five years in the 27-member bloc. This year is the tenth parliamentary election since the first polls in 1979, and the first after Brexit.
The elections started on Thursday in the Netherlands and will end on Sunday, when most countries hold their elections. The first results can only be announced in the evening after polling stations in all Member States have closed.
Voting takes place via direct general election in one ballot paper.
The number of elected members in each country depends on the size of the population. It ranges from six for Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus to 96 for Germany. In 2019, Europeans elected 751 lawmakers.
Following Britain’s departure from the EU in 2020, the number of MEPs fell to 705, with some of the 73 seats previously held by British MEPs redistributed to other member states.
After the elections, the European Parliament will have 15 additional members, bringing the total to 720. Twelve countries will receive additional MEPs.
National political parties participate in elections, but once elected, most legislators join transnational political groups.
In most Member States the minimum voting age is 18 years. Belgium lowered it to 16 years in a 2022 law. Germany, Malta and Austria also allow 16-year-olds to vote. In Greece, the youngest voting age is 17 years old.
There is also a minimum age requirement for candidates to stand for election, from 18 in most countries to 25 in Italy and Greece.
European Union elections do not usually see huge turnouts, but there was a clear increase in public interest in the 2019 elections. At 50.7 percent, turnout was eight points higher than in 2014, after falling steadily since 1979, when turnout reached 62 percent.
In April, the latest edition of the European Parliament’s Eurobarometer revealed a surge of interest in the upcoming elections. About 71 percent of Europeans said they were likely to vote.
Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine is top of mind for citizens, with defense and security seen as key issues in the campaign. At national level, the EU’s defense and security was ranked first in nine countries.
The economy, employment, poverty and social exclusion, public health, climate change and the future of Europe also feature prominently as issues.
The European Parliament is the only EU institution elected by European citizens. It is a real counter-power to the EU’s powerful executive arm, the European Commission.
Parliament does not have the initiative to propose legislation, but its powers are expanding. It now has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues, voting on laws related to the climate, banking rules, agriculture, fisheries, security or justice.
The legislature also votes on the EU budget, which is crucial for the implementation of European policies, including, for example, aid to Ukraine.
Lawmakers are also an important part of the checks and balances system, as they must approve the appointment of all EU commissioners, who are the equivalent of ministers. It could also force the entire committee to resign with a two-thirds majority.
With 176 seats out of 705 at the end of the last plenary session in April, the centre-right European People’s Party is the largest political group in the European Parliament.
Von der Leyen is a member of the EPP and hopes to remain at the helm of the EU’s executive branch after the elections.
The second largest group is the S&D, the political group of the center-left Party of European Socialists, which currently has 139 seats. The pro-business Liberal and pro-European Renew group has 102 seats, ahead of an alliance made up of Green and regionalist political parties which holds 72 seats.
Two groups with far-right parties, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID), could be on track to become the third and fourth largest political groups in the European Parliament.
The two groups have many differences and it is unclear to what extent they could work together to influence the EU’s agenda, especially the EU’s efforts to support Ukraine against Russia in the war.
The EVP and S&D are expected to remain stable. Pro-business Liberals and Greens could both take a hit after making big gains in the previous election.
Once the weight of each political power has been determined, MEPs will elect their president during the first plenary session, from July 16 to 19. They will then most likely appoint the President of the European Commission in September, after weeks of negotiations, on a proposal from the Member States.
In 2019, Von der Leyen won a narrow majority (383 votes in favor, 327 against, 22 abstentions), becoming the first woman to lead the institution. MEPs will also hear from European commissioners before approving them in a single vote.
Von der Leyen has good chances of being appointed for a new term, but she must be able to secure the support of sufficient leaders. She has also antagonized many lawmakers by suggesting she could work with the far right depending on the outcome of the election.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: June 9, 2024 | 12:42 pm IST