1979 European Parliament election

Last updated

1979 European Parliament election
Flag of Europe.svg
7–10 June 1979 1984  

All 410 seats to the European Parliament
206 seats needed for a majority
Turnout114,340,366 / 184,414,900 (62.0%)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  No image.svg Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F061785-0005, Hamburg, CDU-Bundesparteitag, Egon Klepsch (cropped).jpg
Leader Ernest Glinne  [ fr ] Egon Klepsch James Scott-Hopkins
Party SOC EPP ED
Leader's seat Belgium (French) Germany Hereford and Worcester
Seats won
Popular vote29,530,41831,355,6316,878,970
Percentage26.62%28.26%6.20%

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  Giorgio Amendola 1972.jpg Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F052010-0020, Kiel, FDP-Bundesparteitag, Bangemann.jpg No image.svg
Leader Giorgio Amendola Martin Bangemann Christian de La Malène
Party COM ELDR EPD
Leader's seat Central Italy Germany France
Seats won
Popular vote14,908,28111,520,6164,114,969
Percentage13.44%10.38%3.71%

1979 European Parliament election, political grouping breakdown by countries.svg
Post-election composition of each member state's delegation

President of the European Parliament

Simone Veil
ELDR

The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the European Parliament, and also the first international election in history.

Contents

Seats in the Parliament had been allocated to the states according to population, and in some cases were divided into constituencies, but members sat according to political groups.

Background

The Treaty of Rome which established the Communities specified that the European Parliament must be elected by universal suffrage using a common voting system. The Council of the European Union was responsible for setting up the elections but it had procrastinated. As a stop-gap measure, members were appointed to the Parliament by the member states from their own national parliaments, as they had done since the Common Assembly. [1] The Parliament was unhappy with this and threatened to take the Council to the European Court of Justice. The Council eventually agreed to elections and the first European Parliament elections were held in 1979 after proposals were put forward in the mid-1970s. [1] [2] The issue of a common voting method was left undecided, and even to this day the voting methods vary from member state to member state, although all have used some form of proportional representation since 1999.

Campaigns

Helmut Schmidt on the campaign trail in 1979 Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F056098-0019, Nurnberg, SPD Europa-Wahlkampf, Schmidt.jpg
Helmut Schmidt on the campaign trail in 1979

The campaigns varied. The former Social Democrat German Chancellor Willy Brandt took an international campaign to France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands to boost the Socialist group. On the other hand, the former Prime Minister of France Jacques Chirac used the election to gauge his popularity against the then-President of France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, in anticipation of a presidential bid in 1981. [3]

Election

In June, the 410 members were elected by universal suffrage. At the time there were no rules on the system of election to be used. The United Kingdom used a plurality voting system for multiple small constituencies in Great Britain but the other member states used proportional representation for fewer larger constituencies (usually the member state itself as a single constituency), albeit with different methods of seat allocation.

The electorate took little interest [3] but average voter turnout was 63%. The lowest turn out was in the United Kingdom with 32.2%: all others were above 50% apart from Denmark. Aside from Belgium and Luxembourg, where voting is compulsory, the highest turnout was in Italy with 84.9%. [4]

Result

Socialist parties working together under the Europe-wide Confederation of Socialist Parties won the most seats: the resultant Socialist group had 113 MEPs. Christian Democrat parties united within the pan-European European People's Party came second, with the resultant group having 107 MEPs. The largest third force was the Conservative European Democrats with 64, followed by Communists with 44. The Liberal Democrats had 40 seats, although their candidate was elected as President.

The groups formed were loose coalitions based on the groups founded in previous years, but they soon became the basis for modern European political parties.

National distribution of seats
StateSeatsStateSeats
Flag of France.svg  France 81Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany 81
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 81Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 81
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 25Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 24
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 16Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 15
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 6 
1979 European Parliament election – Final results at 17 July 1979
Group [5] [6] [7] [8] DescriptionChaired by MEPs
  SOC Social Democrats Ernest Glinne 113 European Parliament Composition 1979.svg
  EPP Christian Democrats Egon Klepsch 107
  ED Conservatives James Scott-Hopkins 64
  COM Communists and the Far Left Giorgio Amendola 44
  LD Liberals and Liberal Democrats Martin Bangemann 40
  EPD National Conservatives Christian de La Malène 22
  CDI Heterogeneous Marco Pannella
Neil Blaney
Jens-Peter Bonde
11
  NI Independentsnone9Total: 410
Seats summary
SOC
27.56%
EPP
26.10%
ED
15.61%
COM
10.73%
LD
9.76%
EPD
5.37%
CDI
2.68%
NI
2.20%

Result by country

Group
Nation
SOC EPP ED COM LD EPD CDI NI Total
Belgium 4 PS
3 SP
7 CVP
3 PSC
2 PVV
2 PRL
1 VU 2 FDF 24
Denmark 3 A
1 Siu
1 D 2 C 1 SF 3 V 1 FP 4 N 16
France 22 PS+MRG 8 UDF 19 PCF 17 UDF 15 RPR 81
Ireland 4 LAB 4 FG 1 Ind. 5 FF 1 Ind. FF 15
Italy 9 PSI
4 PSDI
29 DC
1 SVP
24 PCI 3 PLI
2 PRI
3 PR
1 PdUP
1 DP
4 MSI 81
Luxembourg 1 LSAP 3 CSV 2 DP 6
Netherlands 9 PvdA 10 CDA 4 VVD 2 D66 25
United Kingdom 17 LAB
1 SDLP
60 CON
1 UUP
1 SNP 1 DUP 81
West Germany 35 SPD 34 CDU
8 CSU
4 FDP 81
Total11310764444022119410

Post election

Simone Veil, elected as the first female President Simone Veil, gymnase Japy 2008 02 27 n5.jpg
Simone Veil, elected as the first female President

Louise Weiss, who was 86 at the time, was found to be Parliament's oldest member and hence presided over the chamber while the election of the President took place (July 1979). Before that could happen however, she immediately had to deal with Ian Paisley MEP who, in the first speech of the session, protested that the British flag outside the building was flying upside down. [9] She dealt with the interruption swiftly. The confrontation was seen as one of her finest hours and she later confided that, as a grandmother, she was used to dealing with "recalcitrant youngsters". [10]

There were five candidates for President of the European Parliament: Giorgio Amendola, Italian Communist; Emma Bonino, Italian Technical Independent; Christian de La Malène, French Progressive Democrat; Simone Veil, French Liberal, and Mario Zagari, Italian Socialist. [11]

In the first ballot, Veil secured 183 of the 380 votes cast – eight short of the absolute majority needed. The next closest contender was Zagari with 118 votes, then Amendola with 44, de la Malène with 26 and Bonino with 9. Bonino and de la Malène dropped out and Veil secured an absolute majority in the second ballot with 192 of the 377 votes cast (Zagari gained 128 and Amendola 47). Veil was elected as the first President of the elected Parliament, and first female President of the Parliament since it was founded in 1952. [11]

The following were elected as Vice-Presidents: Danielle De March, Basil de Ferranti, Bruno Friedrich, Guido Gonella, Gérard Jacquet, Hans Katzer, Poul Møller, Pierre Pflimlin, Bríd Rodgers, Marcel Albert Vandewiele, Anne Vondeling and Mario Zagari. [11]

Previously the Parliament was a weak consultative assembly, the members of which were part-time. With the elections the new body of MEPs were full-time, energetic and more diverse. As soon as the Parliament was established the "old guard" MEPs of the larger parties sought to raise the bar at which a European Parliament political group could be formed (the status gave financial support and representation in committees). This move was quickly blocked by smaller groups working together and filibustering the proposal. The ties formed at this time laid the foundations of the Rainbow group: an alliance of left-wing and green parties [1] which later became the European Greens–European Free Alliance group.

Statistics

European Parliament election, 1979 – Electoral map at 17 July 1979
European Parliament election, 1979 - electoral map European Parliament election, 1979 - electoral map.png
European Parliament election, 1979 - electoral map
Key Group Description
  SOC Social Democrats
  EPP Christian Democrats
  ED Conservatives
  COM Communists and the Far Left
  LD Liberals and Liberal Democrats
  EPD National Conservatives
  CDI Heterogeneous
  NI Independents
European Parliament election, 1979 - Statistics
AreaDatesSeatsElectorateTurnoutPreviousNextElection methodsSources
European Community
(EC-9)
7, 10 June
1979
410191,783,52863%Inaugural 1981 All PR, except UK (not NI)
which used FPTP
[12] [13] [14]
European Parliament election, 1979 - Timeline
Appointed Parliament1979 ElectionRegroupingFirst Parliament
GroupsPre-elections
13 February 1978
ChangeResults
7 July
ChangeResults
17 July
New
Groups
First session
17 July
 SOC63+48111+2113 SOC113
 CD52+54106+1107 EPP107
 C18+4563+164 ED64
 COM17+2744+044 COM44
 LD24+1741-140 LD40
 EPD19+221+122 EPD22
 NI3+2124+1111 CDI11
-159 NI9
Total196+214410+0410Total410
Sources: [6] [15] [5] [7] [8]
European Parliament election, 1979 - Delegation at 17 July 1979
GroupDescriptionDetails%MEPs
  SOC Social Democrats West Germany 35, Belgium 7, Denmark 4, France 22, Ireland 4, Italy 13, Luxembourg 1, Netherlands 9, UK 1828%113
  EPP Christian Democrats West Germany 42, Belgium 10, France 8, Ireland 4, Italy 30, Luxembourg 3, Netherlands 1026%107
  ED Conservatives Denmark 3, UK 6116%64
  COM Communists and the Far Left Denmark 1, France 19, Italy 2411%44
  LD Liberals and Liberal DemocratsWest Germany 4, Belgium 4, Denmark 3, France 17, Ireland 1, Italy 5, Luxembourg 2, Netherlands 410%40
  EPD National Conservatives Denmark 1, France 15, Ireland 5, UK 15%22
  CDI HeterogeneousBelgium 1, Denmark 4, Ireland 1, Italy 53%11
  NI IndependentsBelgium 2, Italy 4, Netherlands 2, UK 12%9
Sources: [5] [6] [7] [8] 100%410
European Parliament election, 1979 - Votes by national party at unknown 1979 date
CountryPartyAbbr.GroupVotes% (nat.)Seats
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Christian Democracy DCEPP12,753,70836.4529
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany SPDSOC11,370,04540.8335
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Christian Democratic Union CDUEPP10,883,08539.0834
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Italian Communist Party PCICOM10,345,28429.5724
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Conservative Party CPED6,508,49348.4060
Flag of France.svg France Union for French Democracy UDFLD5,666,98427.8725
Flag of France.svg France Socialist PartyMovement of Left Radicals PS-MRGSOC4,763,02623.4322
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Labour Party LPSOC4,253,20731.6317
Flag of France.svg France French Communist Party PCFCOM4,153,71020.4319
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Italian Socialist Party PSISOC3,858,29511.039
Flag of France.svg France Rally for the Republic RPREPD3,301,98016.2415
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Christian Social Union of Bavaria CSUEPP2,817,12010.128
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Christian Democratic Appeal CDAEPP2,017,74335.6010
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Italian Social Movement MSINI1,907,8805.454
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Labour Party PvdASOC1,722,24030.399
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Liberal Party L1,691,53112.58
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Free Democratic Party FDPLD1,662,6215.974
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Christian People's Party CVPEPP1,607,94129.547
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Italian Democratic Socialist Party PSDISOC1,512,4254.324
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Radical Party PRCDI1,283,5123.673
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Italian Liberal Party PLILD1,270,1523.633
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands People's Party for Freedom and Democracy VVDLD914,78716.144
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Italian Republican Party PRILD895,5582.562
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany The Greens GRÜNE893,6833.21
Flag of France.svg France Ecological Europe VERTS891,6834.39
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Socialist Party SPSOC698,88912.843
Flag of France.svg France Workers' StruggleRevolutionary Communist League LO-LCR623,6633.07
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Socialist Party PSSOC575,82410.584
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Party for Freedom and Progress PVVLD512,3639.412
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Democracy 66 D66NI511,9679.032
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Fianna Fáil FFEPD464,45134.685
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Christian Social Party PSCEPP445,9128.193
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Fine Gael FGEPP443,65233.134
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Democratic Front of Francophones FDFNI414,6037.622
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Proletarian Unity Party PdUPCDI406,0071.161
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Social Democrats SSOC382,48721.803
Flag of France.svg France 5th List: Employment. Equality. Europe 5-EEE373,2591.84
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Liberal Reformist Party PRLLD372,9046.852
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark People's Movement against the EU FolkeBCDI365,76020.854
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Christian Social People's Party CSVEPP352,29636.123
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium People's Union VUCDI324,5405.961
Flag of France.svg France Inter-Professional Union for an
Independent France in a Solidary Europe
UDIP-FIDES290,5551.43
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Democratic Party DPLD274,30728.122
Flag of France.svg France Party of New Forces PFN265,9111.31
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Venstre VLD252,76714.413
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Proletarian Democracy DPCDI251,9270.721
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Scottish National Party SNPEPD247,8361.841
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Conservative People's Party KFEPP245,30913.982
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party LSAPSOC211,10621.641
Flag of Italy.svg Italy South Tyrolean People's Party SVPEPP196,2770.561
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Irish Labour Party ILPSOC193,89814.484
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Independents Ind.NI189,49914.152
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Democratic Unionist Party DUPNI170,6881.271
Flag of Italy.svg Italy Valdostan UnionSardinian Action Party UV-PSd'Az166,1940.47
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Communist Party of Belgium PCB-KPB145,7962.68
Flag of Italy.svg Italy National Democracy DN142,3540.41
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Social Democratic and Labour Party SDLPSOC140,6221.051
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Reformed Political Party SGP126,4122.23
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Ulster Unionist Party UUPED125,1690.931
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Independents Ind.112,366N/A
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany German Communist Party DKP112,0550.40
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Confederated Ecologists ECOLO107,8331.98
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Centre Democrats CDED107,7906.141
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Progressive Party FPEPD100,7025.741
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Communist Party of the Netherlands CPN97,3431.72
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Pacifist Socialist Party PSP97,2431.72
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Political Party of Radicals PPR92,0551.62
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Plaid Cymru PC83,3990.62
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Socialist People's Party SFCOM81,9914.671
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Another way of Living AGALEV77,9861.43
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Social Democratic Party SDP68,2897.00
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Reformed Political League GPV62,6101.10
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Justice League DR60,9543.47
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Left Socialists VS59,3793.38
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Radical Left RV56,9443.25
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Communist Party of Luxembourg KPL48,8135.00
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium All Power to the Workers TPO-AMADA45,4230.83
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany Christian Bavarian People's Party CBV45,3110.16
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Sinn Féin – The Workers Party SFWP43,9423.28
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Alliance Party of Northern Ireland A39,0260.29
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Flemish People's Party VVP34,7060.64
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany European Workers Party EAP31,8220.11
Flag of Germany.svg  West Germany German Centre Party ZENTRUM31,3670.11
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark Christian People's Party KrF30,9851.77
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom United Against the Common Market UACM27,506N/A
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Leschot List LL24,9030.44
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium E-NONE-NON22,1870.41
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Ecology Party EP17,9530.13
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium PLW-PLEPLW-PLE17,5660.32
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Workers Revolutionary League LRT-RAL16,9110.31
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Mebyon Kernow MK10,205N/A
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Alternative List AL9,8451.01
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium PPBPPB9,7040.18
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium PFUPFU7,2730.13
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom United Labour Party ULP6,1221.1
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Liberal PartyLP5,6100.58
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Revolutionary Socialist Party RSP5,0850.52
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium POEPOE4,6170.08
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Workers' Party WP4,4180.8
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Unionist Party of Northern Ireland UPNI3,7120.6
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland CDICDI3,6300.27
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom International Marxist Group IMG1,635N/A
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom Ulster Liberal Party ULP9320.2
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United KingdomEFPEFP497N/A
Flag of France.svg France Europe – Self-Management List PSU3820.00
Flag of France.svg France Regions-Europe RE3370.00
Source: [16]

Overall final results (after regrouping)

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
Group of the European People's Party (EPP) Christian Democracy (Italy) (DC)12,774,32011.4229
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) [17] 10,883,0859.7334
Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU)2,817,1202.528
Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)2,017,7431.8010
Union for French Democracy (UDF) [18] [19] [20] [21] 1,851,4601.668
Christian People's Party (Flanders) (CVP)1,607,9411.447
Christian Social Party (Wallonia) (PSC)445,9120.403
Fine Gael 443,6520.404
Christian Social People's Party (Luxembourg) (CSV)352,2960.313
South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)196,3730.181
Total33,389,90229.85107
Socialist Group (SOC) Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) [22] 11,370,04510.1735
Socialist Party (France) (PS) – Movement of Radicals of the Left (MRG)4,763,0264.2622
Labour Party (UK) 4,253,2473.8017
Italian Socialist Party (PSI)3,866,9463.469
Labour Party (Netherlands) (PvdA)1,722,2401.549
Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI)1,514,2721.354
Belgian Socialist Party (Flanders) (BSP)698,8890.623
Belgian Socialist Party (Wallonia) (PSB)575,8240.514
Social Democrats (Denmark) 382,4870.343
Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP)211,1060.191
Labour Party (Ireland) 193,8980.174
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)140,6220.131
Siumut 5,1180.001
Total29,697,72026.55113
Communists and Allies Group (COM) Italian Communist Party (PCI)10,361,3449.2624
French Communist Party (PCF)4,153,7103.7119
Communist Party of Belgium (KPB/PCB)145,7960.130
Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) [23] 97,3430.090
Socialist People's Party (Denmark) (SF)81,9910.071
Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL)48,8130.040
Total14,888,99713.3144
Liberal and Democratic Group (LD) Union for French Democracy (UDF) [19] [20] 3,815,5243.4117
Liberal Party (UK) [24] 1,690,6381.510
Free Democratic Party (Germany) (FDP)1,662,6211.494
Italian Liberal Party (PLI)1,271,1591.143
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)914,7870.824
Italian Republican Party (PRI)896,1390.802
Party for Freedom and Progress (Flanders) (PVV)512,3630.462
Liberal Reformist Party (Wallonia) (PRL)372,9040.332
Democratic Party (Luxembourg) (DP)274,3070.252
Venstre (Denmark) (CSV)252,7670.233
Thomas Joseph Maher (Independent from Ireland) [25] [26] 86,2080.081
Danish Social Liberal Party (RV) [24] 56,9440.050
Total11,806,41110.5640
European Democratic Group (ED) Conservative Party (UK) 6,508,4925.8260
Conservative People's Party (Denmark) (DKF) [27] 245,3090.222
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)125,1690.111
Centre Democrats (Denmark) (CD)107,7900.101
Total6,986,7606.2564
Group of European Progressive Democrats (EPD) Rally for the Republic (France) (RPR)3,301,9802.9515
Fianna Fáil 464,4510.425
Scottish National Party (SNP)247,8360.221
Progress Party (Denmark) (FrP)100,7020.091
Total4,114,9693.6822
Group for the Technical Coordination and Defence of Independent Groups and Members (CDI) Radical Party (Italy) (PR)1,285,0651.153
Proletarian Unity Party (Italy) (PdUP)406,6560.361
People's Movement against the EEC (Denmark) 365,7600.334
People's Union (Flanders) (VU)324,5400.291
Proletarian Democracy (DP)252,3420.231
Independent Fianna Fáil 81,5220.071
Total2,715,8852.4311
Non-Inscrits (NI) Italian Social Movement (MSI)1,909,0551.714
Democrats 66 (D66)511,9670.462
Democratic Front of FrancophonesWalloon Rally (DéFI-RW)414,6030.372
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)170,6880.151
Total3,006,3132.699
Other parties and independents5,241,0534.690
Total111,847,960100.00410
Source: Belgian Elections, Folketingsårbog, France Politique, jcautran.free.fr, France Politique, ElectionsIreland.org, Irish Elections, Italian Ministry of the Interior, Public.lu, Kiesraad, UK Parliament Briefing, House of Commons Library, CAIN Archive, Federal Statistics Office, Wahlen-in-Deutschland.de, Europe Politique

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Parliament</span> Directly elected legislature of the European Union

The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union, it adopts European legislation, following a proposal by the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 720 members (MEPs), after the June 2024 European elections, from a previous 705 MEPs. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world, with an electorate of around 375 million eligible voters in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European People's Party Group</span> European Parliament political group

The European People's Party Group is a political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEPs and/or deputies from unaffiliated national parties. The EPP Group comprises politicians of Christian democratic, conservative and liberal-conservative orientation.

The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL is a left-wing political group of the European Parliament established in 1995. Before January 2021, it was named the European United Left/Nordic Green Left.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union for Europe of the Nations</span> European Parliament political group

Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) was a national-conservative, Eurosceptic political group that operated in the European Parliament between 1999 and 2009. At its height in February 2008, it had 44 MEPs. UEN was affiliated with the Alliance for Europe of the Nations political party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 European Parliament election</span> Election to the European Parliament

The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and Luxembourg, where voting is compulsory and where national elections were held that same day. This was the first election where Austria, Finland and Sweden voted alongside the other member states, having joined in 1995 and voted separately. The next election was held in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of the European Parliament</span> Head of debate oversight in the European Union legislature

The president of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. They also represent the Parliament within the European Union (EU) and internationally. The president's signature is required for laws initiated under co-decision and the EU budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections to the European Parliament</span>

Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political groups of the European Parliament</span> Groups of aligned legislators in European Parliament

The political groups of the European Parliament are the officially recognised parliamentary groups consisting of legislators of aligned ideologies in the European Parliament.

A European Parliament election was held in Portugal on 19 July 1987. It was the election of all 24 MEPs representing the Portugal constituency for the remainder of the 1984–1989 term of the European Parliament. Portugal had acceded to the European Community on 1 January 1986 and had been represented in the European Parliament by 24 appointed delegates until elections could be held. These elections took place on the same day of the legislative elections of 1987.

The Democratic Movement is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was established by François Bayrou to succeed the Union for French Democracy (UDF) and contest the 2007 legislative election, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential election. Initially named the Democratic Party, the party was renamed "Democratic Movement", because there was already a small Democratic Party in France.

The European Conservative Group was a conservative political group that operated in the European Parliament between 1973 and 1979. At its height in July 1979, it had 63 MEPs.

The Group of the European Right was a far-right political group that operated in the European Parliament between 1984 and 1989. It was led by the neo-fascist National Front of Jean-Marie Le Pen. Its members also were the Italian Social Movement and Greek National Political Union. The Ulster Unionist Party was also a member of ER after 1985. ER was succeeded by the Technical Group of the European Right after the 1989 European Parliament election.

The European Democratic Alliance was a heterogeneous political group in the European Parliament between 1984 and 1995. It consisted mainly of deputies from the French Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR) and the Irish Fianna Fáil. The grouping had a generally centre-right outlook, and strongly defended the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy.

The Group of European Progressive Democrats was a heterogeneous political group with seats in the European Parliament between 1973 and 1984. It was mostly composed of French Gaullists and Irish Fianna Fáil.

The European Democratic Union Group was a Gaullist political group with seats in the European Parliament between 1965 and 1973.

The Technical Group of Independents was a heterogenous political technical group in the European Parliament operating between 1979 and 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group</span> European Parliament political group

The Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe was the liberal–centrist political group of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2019. It was made up of MEPs from two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party, which collectively form the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats</span> European Parliament political group

The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) is the political group in the European Parliament of the Party of European Socialists (PES). The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats was officially founded as a Socialist Group on 29 June 1953, which makes it the second oldest political group in the European Parliament after the European People's Party Group. It adopted its present-day name on 23 June 2009. Centre-left in orientation, the group mostly comprises social democratic parties and is affiliated with the Progressive Alliance and Socialist International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Zagari</span> Italian politician (1913–1996)

Mario Zagari was an Italian socialist politician, who served in the Italian Parliament and in the European parliament as well as in the Italian governments in various capacities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jérémy Decerle</span> French politician

Jérémy Decerle is a Charolais breeder, French politician and former trade unionist. He was president of the "Young Farmers" union from 2016 to 2019, before being elected Member of the European Parliament in 2019, on the list supported by Emmanuel Macron.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hoskyns, Catherine; Michael Newman (2000). Democratizing the European Union: Issues for the twenty-first Century (Perspectives on Democratization. Manchester University Press. ISBN   978-0-7190-5666-6.
  2. Patijn Report
  3. 1 2 Electing a New Parliament, Time Magazine 11 June 1979
  4. Rates of participation in European elections (1979–2004) on CVCE website
  5. 1 2 3 "Parlement européen 1979 - Parlement élu en 1979". www.europe-politique.eu (in French).
  6. 1 2 3 "Elections Europeennes" (PDF) (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 "Democracy in the European Parliament" (PDF). emlab.berkeley.edu.
  8. 1 2 3 "Power to the Parties: Cohesion and Competition in the European Parliament, 1979-2001" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2008.
  9. Matthew Tempest and agencies Paisley to stand down as MEP, The Guardian , 19 January 2004
  10. A number of names worth remembering ..., European Voice , 26 November 1998
  11. 1 2 3 Election of the President of the European Parliament, European Parliament
  12. "Elections 1989 - Results and members" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009.
  13. "Election '79 - Voting figures and winners" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2008.
  14. "Turnout trends at European elections". European Parliament. 2004.
  15. "Elections '79 - The results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
  16. "Arxiu Històric Electoral - Unió Europea". Archived from the original on 21 June 2012., with exception of some UK results
  17. Including two indirectly elected members from West Berlin
  18. Only members of UDF who were part of the EPP group
  19. 1 2 Marius Autran and Jean-Claude Autran. "Elections européennes du 10 juin 1979 (1ère législature)". jcautran.free.fr. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  20. 1 2 Laurent de Boissieu. "Élections européennes 1979". www.france-politique.fr. France Politique. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  21. "Olivier LEFEVRE D'ORMESSON". www.europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  22. Including one indirectly elected member from West Berlin
  23. "HARTOG, Wessel (COM, NL)". www.europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  24. 1 2 Dimitri Almeida (2012). The Impact of European Integration on Political Parties: Beyond the Permissive Consensus. Taylor & Francis. pp. 102–103. ISBN   978-1-136-34039-0.
  25. "Thomas Joseph MAHER". www.europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  26. "Munster: 1979 European Election". irelandelection.com. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  27. "List of Danish MEPs (in Danish) on Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.europarl.dk. European Parliament. Retrieved 25 June 2024.