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The European Elections

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The European Elections DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS: EU LEGISLATION, NATIONAL PROVISIONS AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION STUDY Abstract This study describes both the European framework and national provisions on electoral procedures in the Member States of the European Union, including recent developments such as the creation of European Political Parties and the reform of the Electoral Act of 1976. For each country the most important legal provisions, the electoral system and some outcomes of past elections - such as participation of citizens from other Member States - are presented. The document also provides information sources for further study of national regulations. March 2009 PE 410.672 EN 2 This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs AUTHOR and RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Mr Wilhelm Lehmann Policy Department C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: poldep-1 [email protected] Manuscript completed in February 2009. Brussels, © European Parliament, 2009. This document is available on the Internet at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies2 DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 3 CONTENTS I.0 Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 6 II.1 European Elections: the Framework Provided by the European Union..................................... 8 1.6 How to elect MEPs: uniform procedure or common principles ? ...................................................................8 2.7 European Citizenship.......................................................................................................................................9 3.8 European political parties: towards a European political debate.................................................................11 4.9 A growing European Union, a growing Parliament......................................................................................12 III.2 Overview of Electoral Systems and Provisions .......................................................................... 16 1.1 Distribution of seats.......................................................................................................................................16 2.1 Preferential voting .........................................................................................................................................16 3.1 Vacant seats ...................................................................................................................................................16 4.1 Electoral system.............................................................................................................................................17 5.1 Franchise........................................................................................................................................................17 6.1 Candidature ...................................................................................................................................................18 7.1 Nomination of candidates.............................................................................................................................18 8.1 Constituencies ...............................................................................................................................................19 9.1 Polling days....................................................................................................................................................19 10.1 Validation of election results.......................................................................................................................19 IV.3 Information by Member State................................................................................................. 20 1.2 Belgium ♦ Belgique / België / Belgien ...........................................................................................................20 2.2 Bulgaria ♦ България / Bălgarija.....................................................................................................................23 3.2 Czech Republic ♦ Česká republica.................................................................................................................25 4.2 Denmark ♦ Danmark......................................................................................................................................27 5.2 Germany ♦ Deutschland................................................................................................................................30 6.2 Estonia ♦ Eesti ................................................................................................................................................33 7.2 Greece ♦ Ελληνική Δημοκρατία.....................................................................................................................36 8.2 Spain ♦ España...............................................................................................................................................38 9.2 France.............................................................................................................................................................41 10.2 Ireland ..........................................................................................................................................................44 11.3 Italy ♦ Italia...................................................................................................................................................46 12.3 Cyprus ♦ Κύπρος / Kypros............................................................................................................................49 13.3 Latvia ♦ Latvija .............................................................................................................................................51 14.3 Lithuania ♦ Lietuva ......................................................................................................................................53 15.3 Luxembourg ................................................................................................................................................55 16.3 Hungary ♦ Magyarorszàg.............................................................................................................................58 4 17.3 Malta ............................................................................................................................................................ 60 18.3 The Netherlands ♦ Nederland ..................................................................................................................... 61 19.3 Austria ♦ Österreich ..................................................................................................................................... 64 20.3 Poland ♦ Polska............................................................................................................................................ 66 21.4 Portugal ....................................................................................................................................................... 68 22.4 Romania ♦ România..................................................................................................................................... 72 23.4 Slovenia ♦ Slovenija..................................................................................................................................... 73 24.4 Slovakia ♦ Slovensko ................................................................................................................................... 76 25.4 Finland ♦ Suomi........................................................................................................................................... 78 26.4 Sweden ♦ Sverige ........................................................................................................................................ 81 27.4 The United Kingdom ................................................................................................................................... 83 Annex4 I: Synoptic Table................................................................................................................. 87 Annex5 II: Weblinks to National Electoral Provisions.................................................................... 89 5 I. INTRODUCTION "United in diversity" is the motto of the European Union. The European Parliament with its 785 Members coming from 27 different countries, elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term, is the quintessence of this motto: diversity of background and political priorities is balanced by unity of purpose to make the Union an effective political entity. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent 497 million citizens. According
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