Thursday 10 June: Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark, Sunday 13 June: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Member state subdivided into multiple constituencies: Belgium (3), Ireland (4), Italy (5), United Kingdom (12), Mixture: Germany (candidate lists at Länder or national level), Finland (candidate lists at electoral district or national level), Member state as single constituency: the rest. Each country then declares whether it is for or against the proposed destination and the vote is recorded in the Council's voting calculator. Solidarity. Voters vote for a party and each party decides who their candidates are and the order in which they will be elected. HOW IS THE EU RELEVANT TO YOUR DAILY LIFE? More about the 2019 European elections results European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day and who are enrolled on the voting register in Finland and whose municipality of residence, as defined by law, is in Finland on the 51st day before election day, unless he/she has lost the right to vote in the Member State whose citizen he/she is. Leader of the government who is freely and directly elected by the citizens. Irish citizens as well as EU citizens can vote in the European Elections and Local Elections. Bulgarian citizen who has attained the age of 21 years by polling day, does not hold the citizenship of any State that is not a Member State of the European Union, is not interdicted, does not serve a custodial sentence, has a permanent address in the Republic of Bulgaria, and has resided in the Republic of Bulgaria or in another Member State of the European Union at least during the last six months. There is however a great variety of electoral procedures: some countries use a highest averages method of proportional representation, some use the largest remainder method, some open lists and others closed. Imagine that your class has collected money for a school trip and that you now need to agree on a destination. Under Article 17 of the EU treaty, as amended by the Lisbon Treaty, the Commission President is formally proposed by the European Council (the 28 heads of government of the EU member states), by a qualified-majority vote, and is then ‘elected’ by a majority vote in the European Parliament. European Union citizens aged 21 or over on polling day and resident in Poland or the European Union for at least 5 years, were never sentenced for a crime committed consciously or accused by a prosecutor. The precise day of elections is set by each Member State. The European Council brings together the presidents or prime ministers of the EU countries. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day. Find out more here. In Britain the turnout was just 34.3%, down from 38% in 2004. Under the European Constitution the European Council would have to take into account the results of the latest European elections and, furthermore, the Parliament would ceremonially "elect", rather than simply approve, the Council's proposed candidate. Without the Council and without the ministers from all EU countries, nothing can get done in the European Union. So let’s see. No change in this configuration can occur without the unanimous consent of all governments. European Union citizens at least 21 years of age and satisfying the requirements of the right to cast a vote, except members of the. 26/2012 'Codification in a single text of the provisions of the legislation on the election of Members' (A 57). The work of the Council is led by each EU country in turn for a period of 6 months. A system of proportional representation is used to elect MEPs in all Based on their size, the large countries have more members than the small ones. Members of the European Parliament are elected by EU citizens every five years. [4] While European political parties have the right to campaign EU-wide for the European elections,[5] campaigns still take place through national election campaigns, advertising national delegates from national parties. It has constitutional-type and ratification powers. In this chapter you will get a short overview of the structure of the EU. It has 751 MEPs but this number will be reduced, because of Brexit, to 705. The United Kingdom, historically up until its exit from the Union, was split into. They meet at least four times per year. European Union citizens who are ordinarily resident in the Republic of Ireland on 1 September in the year before the Register of Electors comes into force. A member of Dáil Eireann (a Teachta Dála, or TD) An outgoing member of the Seanad. Commissioners do not represent the views of their country of origin but rather the common interest of the EU. Free movement of goods, services and capital in the EU, A common currency in 19 EU countries: the euro, 5. The next elections to the European Parliament will be held in spring 2024 and 2029, and you might be eligible to vote by then. Citizens … The Commission's proposals are scrutinised in detail by the European Parliament and the Council. European Union. What responsibilities do they have? The European Council sets the EU's main priorities and overall policy directions. European Union citizens who are entitled to vote. EU citizens are then eligible to vote for the duration of their stay in that country. European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union.Since the founding of the Coal and Steel Community after World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples". Because the Member States want to keep strict control of the EU. No other EU institution is directly elected, with the Council of the European Union and the European Council being only indirectly legitimated through national elections. That would give them individually, and the body as a whole, a democratic mandate. Do you recognise some of the members from your own country? Το δικαίωμα του εκλέγειν έχουν οι πολίτες Έλληνες και Ελληνίδες που συμπλήρωσαν το δέκατο όγδοο έτος της ηλικίας τους. Το δικαίωμα του εκλέγειν έχουν οι πολίτες Έλλη-νες και Ελληνίδες που συμπλήρωσαν το δέκατο έβδομο (17ο) έτος της ηλικίας τους». Easy. The European Commission is the 'executive body' of the EU. This is the job of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union. The Labour shadow minister responded by saying that Labour has pledged that every EU citizen living in the United Kingdom on Brexit day will automatically gain all the rights of a “citizen”. Each one has a veto. [22], Legend:     Socialist (PES/S&D) –   Liberal (ELDR/ALDE) –   People's (EPP/EPP-ED), As of 2011 reforms by Liberal Democrat MEP Andrew Duff are being considered by Parliament, which are seen as the most significant overhaul of the electoral system since elections began. A 1980 analysis by Karlheinz Reif and Hermann Schmitt concluded that European elections were fought on national issues and used by voters to punish their governments mid-term, making European Parliament elections de facto national elections of second rank. The citizens of Greece and Greeks who have reached their seventeenth (17th) year of age have the right to vote.», Type of election in which the citizens of a Member State of the European Union elect the delegations of Members of the European Parliament, Percentage turnout of registered voters in previous elections, European Parliament election, 1979 - Statistics, European Parliament election, 1984 - Statistics, European Parliament election, 1989 - Statistics, European Parliament election, 1994 - Statistics, European Parliament election, 1999 - Statistics, European Parliament election, 2004 - Statistics, European Parliament election, 1979 - Delegation at 17 July 1979, European Parliament election, 1984 - Delegation at 23 July 1984, European Parliament election, 1989 - Delegation at 25 July 1989, European Parliament election, 1994 - Delegation at 19 July 1994, European Parliament election, 1999 - Delegation at 20 July 1999, European Parliament election, 2004 - Delegation at 20 July 2004. 8, No. Elections to the European Parliament in 2019 were held between 23 and 26 May 2019. [15] This is analogous to the American two-party system in the sense that voting on issues and legislation in the Parliament only requires a yes or no vote, which means voter vote for options or candidates that are close to their ideals. As a European citizen, you can influence EU policies in several ways. Were you able to agree on the proposed destination? Duff sees the next Commission President possibly coming from the transnational list. 25 extra MEPs would be added on a transnational European list with its candidates being selected by the European party groups rather than national member parties. European Union citizens aged 18 or over on polling day who are resident in Portugal and registered to vote. Second, the European Parliament is composed of representatives—known as members of the European Parliament, or MEPs—who are directly elected by the citizens of each EU member state. You can watch the Council in action in all EU languages here. [36], In February 2008, President Barroso admitted there was a problem in legitimacy and that, despite having the same legitimacy as Prime Ministers in theory, in practice it was not the case. Maltese citizens aged 18 or over on polling day. In Spain v United Kingdom, the European Court of Justice held that member states are permitted to extend the franchise to non-EU citizens.[39]. Yes, EU citizens residing in Germany can take part in European elections in Germany if on election day, they are aged 18 or over. have been living for more than three months in Germany or in another EU country. However at that time only one party had run with a specific candidate: the European Green Party, who had the first true pan-European political party with a common campaign,[32] put forward Daniel Cohn-Bendit. Your representatives work with Members of the European Parliament from other EU countries in political groups. However, due to a waning of support and possible opposition from member states, Duff has taken the proposal back to committee to get broader support before putting them before the plenary in autumn 2011. Η άσκηση του εκλογικού δικαιώματος είναι υποχρεωτική. 1, pp. These two institutions debate, amend and pass EU law. Countries with multiple constituencies are: Germany, Italy and Poland use a different system, whereby parties are awarded seats based on their nationwide vote as in all of the states that elect members from a single constituency; these seats are given to the candidates on regional lists. Until 2019, 751 MEPs were elected to the European Parliament, which has been directly elected since 1979.Since the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU in 2020, the number of MEPs, including the president, has been 705. Fourthly, you can have your say about what is happening in the European Union during the many citizens' dialogues that take place across the EU. You can visit the EU institutions, including the European Parliament, the Council, the European Council and the European Commission. They form the two largest groups, (called EPP and S&D respectively) along with other smaller parties. These two institutions debate, amend and pass EU law. For example, a Portuguese citizen who studies at university in France and lives at home outside term-time in the family home in the Netherlands has the option of voting in the European Parliamentary election in France, Portugal or the Netherlands. The number of members for each region is decided dynamically after the election, and depends on voter turnout in each region. An EU citizen residing in a Member State other than that of which he or she is a national is a “mobile EU citizen”. In small groups, have a look at the following table to see which parties from your country were successful at the last European elections and which groups they belong to. c As proposed by European Parliament on 13 March 2013. The last European elections were held in spring 2019.The next ones will be held in 2024. In Council meetings, about 80 % of law proposals are decided by majority vote. Finnish citizens entitled to vote and not legally incompetent. Again, the European Parliament is … This is because human beings take decisions and shape policies. The 2019 election, however, saw turnout increase to its highest level since 1994, at 51%. Lithuania was one of the first countries in the world to grant women a right to vote in the elections. In practice this means that members of the public may invite the European Commission to propose legislation on a specific issue for which the EU is responsible, such as the environment, agriculture or transport. While no legal obligation exists to force the European Council to propose the candidate of the strongest party to the EP, it was assumed that the Council would have no other choice than to accept the voters' decision. Any European Union citizens who are entitled to vote (whose municipality of residence is in Hungary). There is one commissioner from each EU country.