The EU and the European elections explained!
Find out more about EU Member States, key EU institutions, current EP parliamentary majorities, recent voter turnout and the history of the EU.
Europe and the EP elections in numbers
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27 EU Member States will simultaneously elect a new European Parliament, on 6-9 June 2024
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400+ million people eligible to vote (2nd largest democratic election in the world after India)
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The next European election will be the 10th direct election to the European Parliament. The European elections take place every 5 years
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There are currently 7 political groups in the European Parliament (EP). There are currently 10 registered European political parties
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There will be 720 Members (MEPs) in the next European Parliament
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The election results will be taken into account to attribute EU top jobs
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There's 1 EP President and 14 EP Vice-Presidents
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Voter turnout in the 2019 European elections was 51%
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Voting age: 16 in Belgium, Germany, Malta, Austria; 17 in Greece; 18 in all other EU Member States
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Voting is compulsory in Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece and Luxembourg
Key EU institutions
The European Parliament (EP) is elected by EU citizens and passes EU legislation together with the Council of the EU.
The European Commission consists of 1 President and 26 European Commissioners, carries out executive tasks in the EU political system, is the guardian of the EU treaties, represents the common interests of the EU, and proposes EU legislation.
The European Council gathers the heads of state and government of the 27 EU Member States and sets the EU's general political priorities. The following European political parties are currently represented in the European Council: European People's Party/EPP (9), Democrats for Europe/ALDE (6), Europas/PES (5), European Conservatives and Reformers/ECR (3), Independents (4). (As of: November 2023).
The Council of the European Union represents the views of national governments and negotiates European legislation. It gathers the ministers/ministries in charge in each EU Member State and meets in ten council formations.
The European External Action Service is the diplomatic service of the EU.
The European Central Bank is the central bank of the EU countries that use the euro as their currency.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) oversees the application of EU law.
The European Court of Auditors audits revenue and expenditure in all EU policy areas, contributing to accountability and transparency.
The Committee of the Regions represents local and regional authorities across the EU and delivers opinions on new EU legislation.
The European Economic and Social Committee gathers representatives of workers and employer organizations and other stakeholders. It delivers opinions to the EU institutions, thereby forming a bridge between the decision-making bodies and citizens.
Majorities in the European Parliament (EP)
The EP currently has 705 seats, distributed among the 27 EU Member States according to their population. From 96 seats for Germany to 6 seats for Malta. After the EP 2024 election, as usual, the MEPs will not be grouped by country, but by political group. There are currently 7 political groups in the EP (seat number in November 2023):
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The Left (GUE/NGL, 37 seats)
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Socialists & Democrats (S&D, 140 seats)
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The Greens/Free European Alliance (Greens/EFA, 72 seats)
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Renew Europe (Renew, 102 seats)
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European People's Party (EPP, 178 seats)
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European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR, 68 seats)
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Identity and Democracy (ID, 59 seats)
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49 non-attached MEPs
What happens next after the European elections?
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The EP political groups are constituted
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The European Parliament elects its President and Vice-Presidents
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The European Council puts forward a proposal for a President of the European Commission, taking into account the results of the European elections
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The European Parliament votes on the proposed European Commission President. If rejected, the European Council must make a new proposal within one month
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If approved, the elected European Commission President asks the EU Member States to submit their candidacies for European Commissioners - each EU Member State proposes its candidate (currently 26 EU Commissioners)
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The candidates will be vetted by the relevant European Parliament committees, which must confirm them
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The European Parliament votes on the approval of the proposed European Commission as a whole
Timeline of the history of the EU
1951: The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created by the six founding Member States (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands).
1957: The Treaty of Rome creates the basis for a European Economic Community (EEC), the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and common institutions such as a Parliamentary Assembly, a Court of Justice and an Economic and Social Committee. From now on we will talk about the “European Communities” (EC).
1967: The executive bodies of the three communities (ECSC, EEC and Euratom) are merged.
1973: The United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark join the EC.
1974: The Heads of State and Government of the EC decide to meet regularly as the European Council.
1979: The European Parliament is directly elected for the first time.
1981: Greece joins the EC.
1985: The Commission presents its White Paper on completing the internal market. The Schengen Agreement, among other things, for the gradual abolition of border controls at internal borders, is decided by Germany, France and the Benelux countries.
1986: Portugal and Spain join the EC.
1987: The twelve EC Member States sign the “Single European Act” to enable the free movement of people, goods, services and capital (the “four fundamental freedoms”) and to create a common European single market by 1992.
1989: Peaceful revolutions take place in Central and Eastern Europe. The Iron Curtain falls.
1993: The Maastricht Treaty establishes the European Union as we know it today. According to the Maastricht Treaty, the EU is based on three pillars: European Community, Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters. It also sets out the conditions and timetable for the introduction of an economic and monetary union.
1994: The Committee of the Regions is created. The Schengen Agreement comes into force.
1995: The EU grows to 15 Member States (adding Austria, Finland and Sweden).
1997: The EU foreign ministers sign the Treaty of Amsterdam, which comes into force in 1999.
1999: The euro is introduced as book money in the eurozone. The Treaty of Amsterdam comes into force and creates important conditions for the enlargement of the European Union. It strengthens the European Parliament and the ability to act externally, so a High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy is appointed. Turkey becomes a candidate for accession to the EU. The Convention on the European Charter of Fundamental Rights begins its work.
2000: In Nice, the heads of state and government agree on a new treaty (Nice Treaty) that prepares the decision-making system for enlargement and comes into force in 2003.
2001: At the Laeken Summit, the European Council decides on a comprehensive reform of the EU and the establishment of a Convention on the Future of the European Union.
2002: The euro is introduced as a currency. The European Council in Copenhagen decides on the admission of ten Eastern and Central European states and develops the so-called Copenhagen accession criteria.
2003: The Convention on the Future of the EU completes its work on the draft European Constitution and the Intergovernmental Conference begins work on a constitutional treaty. It is also agreed to establish an area of freedom, security and justice.
2004: Ten more countries join the EU: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus.
2005: The attempt to introduce a European Constitution fails as France and the Netherlands vote against it in referendums. North Macedonia becomes a candidate for accession to the EU.
2007: Bulgaria and Romania join the EU. After the failure of the constitutional treaty, the 27 EU states instead sign the Treaty of Lisbon, which changes the previous treaties.
2009: The Lisbon Treaty comes into force. Its aim is to democratise decision-making processes and make them more efficient. For example, the EU Parliament is given more powers and the European Citizens' Initiative is introduced.
2010: Montenegro becomes a candidate for EU membership.
2012: Serbia becomes a candidate for accession to the EU.
2013: Croatia becomes the 28th EU member.
2014: Albania becomes a candidate for accession to the EU.
2016: The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the EU (Brexit).
2020: The United Kingdom leaves the European Union, which is why it is now referred to as the EU-27.
2022 and 2023: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia will become EU accession candidates.
Democracy in the EU – Index
There are increasingly serious democratic deficits in some EU Member States. One of the major political tasks of the next few years is therefore to defend the EU as a democratic project. With its democracy index, the Economist Intelligence Unit shows which EU Member States have democratic deficits.
The ranking of EU countries is based on the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) 2022 report. The first number refers to the global ranking, the number in brackets is the “Democracy Score”, which is given on a scale of 1-10. The higher the number, the more “democratic” the country is rated. The score is made up of the following five categories: electoral processes and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, civil liberties.
Based on scores on a range of indicators within these categories, each country is assigned to one of four regime types: “full democracy,” “flawed democracy,” “hybrid regime,” or “authoritarian regime.”
This article was originally published in German for böll.thema 24/1. License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
