1984 European Parliament election

1984 European Parliament election

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All 434 seats to the European Parliament 218 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	61% 2.0 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Rudi Arndt Egon Klepsch Henry Plumb Party SOC EPP ED Leader's seat Germany Germany Cotswolds Last election 113, 27.6% 107, 26.1% 64, 15.6% Seats won 130* 110* 50* Seat change 17 3 14 Percentage 30% 25.3% 11.5% Swing 2.4% 0.8% 4.1%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Gianni Cervetti Simone Veil Christian de La Malène Party COM ELDR EPD Leader's seat North-West Italy France France Last election 44, 10.7% 40, 9.8% 22, 5.4% Seats won 41 31 29 Seat change 3 9 7 Percentage 9.4% 7.1% 6.7% Swing 1.3% 2.7% 1.3%
Post-election composition of each member state's delegation * The number of seats was increased from 410 to 434 – so this is a nominal figure
President of the European Parliament before election Piet Dankert SOC President of the European Parliament after election Pierre Pflimlin EPP

The 1984 European Parliament election was the first since the inaugural election of 1979 and the 1981 enlargement of the European Community to include Greece. It was also the last before the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1986.

Results showed centre-left and right-wing MEPs profiting at the expense of the far-left and centre-right. The Socialists consolidated their position as the biggest group in the Parliament, and there were notable changes for the smaller groups, with far-right MEPs forming a group and the coalescence of the Green and Regionalist group known as "Rainbow". Overall turnout dropped to 61%. No majority was achieved.

Electoral system

There was no single voting system for all member states; each of them adopted its own method, established by national law.

The United Kingdom used a one-round (first-past-the-post) system of 78 constituencies in England, Wales and Scotland, while in Northern Ireland 3 proportional seats were allocated. Belgium, Ireland and Italy used a proportional system with subdivision of the territory into constituencies. Denmark, France, West Germany, Greece, Luxembourg and the Netherlands used a single national proportional system, although in the case of Denmark Greenland had its own constituency with the allocation of one seat and in the case of West Germany the three seats for the West Berlin area were not directly elected but were chosen by the Berlin House of Representatives, given the particular status of the city.

Pre-election

Seat changes

The number of seats was the same as before for each member state that took part in the 1979 election. Greece, which had joined in 1981, was allocated 24 new seats. This raised the number of seats to 434 from 410.

National distribution of seats
State	Seats		State	Seats
West Germany	81		Belgium	24
United Kingdom	81		Greece	24
France	81		Denmark	16
Italy	81		Ireland	15
Netherlands	25		Luxembourg	6

Election and regrouping

Overview

The Socialists increased their share by six seats to 130 seats, up from 124 before the elections. The Democratic Alliance (formerly Progressive Democrats) also made gains, up by seven to 29 seats. The People's Party's, the European Democrats, Communists and Liberals all lost seats. The French National Front and the Italian Social Movement founded a group called the "European Right": the first far-right group in the Parliament. The Technical Group of Independents was replaced by the Rainbow Group, a mixture of Greens and Regionalists.

Final results

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Group of the European People's Party (EPP)		Christian Democracy (Italy) (DC)	11,583,767	10.08	26	-3
			Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) [1]	9,308,411	8.10	34	0
			New Democracy (Greece) (ND)	2,266,568	1.97	9	+1 [2]
			Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU)	2,109,130	1.83	7	-1
			Union for French Democracy (UDF) [3] [4] [5] [6]	1,831,599	1.59	9	+1
			Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)	1,590,218	1.38	8	-2
			Christian People's Party (Flanders) (CVP)	1,132,682	0.99	4	-3
			Christian Social Party (Wallonia) (PSC)	436,108	0.38	2	-1
			Fine Gael	361,034	0.31	6	+2
			Christian Social People's Party (Luxembourg) (CSV)	345,586	0.30	3	0
			South Tyrolean People's Party (SVP)	198,220	0.17	1	0
			Centre Democrats (Denmark) (CD) [7]	131,984	0.11	1	0
		Total		31,295,307	27.22	110	-5 [8]
	Socialist Group (SOC)		Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) [9]	9,296,417	8.09	33	-2
			Labour Party (UK)	4,865,224	4.23	32	+15
			Socialist Party (France) (PS)	4,188,875	3.64	20	0
			Italian Socialist Party (PSI)	3,940,445	3.43	9	0
			PASOK (Greece)	2,476,491	2.15	10	0 [10]
			Labour Party (Netherlands) (PvdA)	1,785,165	1.55	9	0
			Italian Democratic Socialist Party (PSDI)	1,225,462	1.07	3	-1
			Socialist Party (Flanders) (SP)	956,518	0.83	3	0
			Socialist Party (Wallonia) (PS)	527,297	0.46	4	0
			Social Democrats (Denmark)	387,098	0.34	3	0
			Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP)	211,106	0.18	2	+1
			Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)	140,622	0.12	1	0
			Labour Party (Ireland)	93,656	0.08	0	-4
			Siumut	7,364	0.01	1	0
		Total		30,101,740	26.18	130	+7 [11]
	Communists and Allies Group (COM)		Italian Communist Party (PCI)	11,624,430	10.11	26	+2
			French Communist Party (PCF)	2,261,312	1.97	10	-9
			Communist Party of Greece	693,304	0.60	3	0 [12]
			Communist Party of Greece (Interior)	203,813	0.18	1	0 [13]
			Socialist People's Party (Denmark) (SF)	183,580	0.16	1	0
			Communist Party of Belgium (KPB/PCB)	87,379	0.08	0	0
			Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL)	40,395	0.04	0	0
		Total		15,094,213	13.13	41	-7 [14]
	Liberal and Democratic Group (LD)		SDP–Liberal Alliance (UK) [15] [16]	2,591,659	2.25	0	0
			Union for French Democracy (UDF) [17] [18] [19] [20]	2,569,499	2.24	12	-5
			Italian Liberal Party – Italian Republican Party (PLI–PRI)	2,140,501	1.86	5	0
			Free Democratic Party (Germany) (FDP)	1,192,624	1.04	0	-4
			People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)	1,002,685	0.87	5	+1
			Liberal Reformist Party (Wallonia) (PRL)	540,610	0.47	3	+1
			Party for Freedom and Progress (Flanders) (PVV)	494,277	0.43	2	0
			Venstre (Denmark)	248,397	0.22	2	-1
			Democratic Party (Luxembourg) (DP)	218,481	0.19	1	-1
			Thomas Joseph Maher (Independent from Ireland) [21] [22]	55,079	0.05	1	–
			Liberal Party (Greece) (RV)	20,908	0.02	0	0 [23]
		Total		11,074,720	9.63	31	-9
	European Democratic Group (ED)		Conservative Party (UK)	5,426,866	4.72	45	-15
			Conservative People's Party (Denmark) (DKF) [24]	414,177	0.36	4	+2
			Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)	147,169	0.13	1	0
		Total		5,988,212	5.21	50	-14
	Group of the European Democratic Alliance (EDA)		Rally for the Republic (France) (RPR) [25] [26] [27] [28]	4,282,498	3.73	20	+5
			Fianna Fáil	438,946	0.38	8	+3
			Scottish National Party (SNP)	230,594	0.20	1	0
		Total		4,952,038	4.31	29	+7 [29]
	Group of the European Right (ER)		Italian Social Movement (MSI) [30]	2,274,556	1.98	5	+1
			National Front (FN)	2,210,334	1.92	10	New
			National Political Union (Greece) (EPEN)	136,642	0.12	1	New
		Total		4,621,532	4.02	16	New
	Rainbow Group (RBW)		The Greens (West Germany)	2,025,972	1.76	7	+7
			Proletarian Democracy (DP) [31]	506,753	0.44	1	0
			People's Union (Flanders) (VU) [32]	484,494	0.42	2	+1
			People's Movement against the EEC (Denmark) [33]	413,808	0.36	4	0
			Green Progressive Accord (Netherlands) [34]	296,488	0.26	2	New
			Agalev	246,712	0.21	1	+1
			Ecolo	220,663	0.19	1	+1
			Federalism - Europe of the Peoples (Italy)	193,430	0.17	1	+1
			Proletarian Unity Party (Italy) (PdUP) [35] [36] [37] [38]	89,998	0.08	1	0
			Independent Fianna Fáil [39]	32,504	0.03	0	-1
		Total		4,510,822	3.92	20	New
	Non-Inscrits (NI)		Radical Party (Italy) (PR) [40]	1,199,876	1.04	3	0
			SGP–GPV–RPF (Netherlands)	275,786	0.24	1	New
			José Happart (Independent from Belgium, Wallonia) [41] [42] [43]	234,996	0.20	1	–
			Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)	230,251	0.20	1	0
			Jef Ulburghs (Independent from Belgium, Flanders) [44] [45] [46]	23,184	0.02	1	–
		Total		1,964,093	1.71	7	-2
	Other parties and independents			5,363,569	4.67	0	-9
Total				114,966,246	100.00	434	–
Source: Belgian Elections, Folketingsårbog, France Politique, jcautran.free.fr, Politiquemania, ElectionsIreland.org, ElectionsIreland.org, Ikaria, Italian Ministry of the Interior, Public.lu, Kiesraad, UK Parliament briefing, Federal Statistics Office, Wahlen-in-Deutschland.de, Europe Politique

1984 European Parliament election - Groups at 23–26 July 1984
Group		Description	Chaired by	MEPs
	SOC	Social Democrats	Rudi Arndt	130
	EPP	Christian Democrats	Egon Klepsch	110
	ED	Conservatives	Henry Plumb	50
	COM	Communists and the Far Left	Gianni Cervetti	41
	LD	Liberals and Liberal Democrats	Simone Veil	31
	EDA	National Conservatives	Christian de La Malène	29
	RBW	Greens and Regionalists	Else Hammerich Jaak Vandemeulebroucke Bram van der Lek Paul Staes	20
	ER	Far Right Nationalists	Jean-Marie Le Pen	16
	NI	Independents	none	7	Total: 434	Sources: Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine

Votes summary EPP   27.22% SOC   26.18% COM   13.13% LD   9.63% ED   5.21% EDA   4.31% ER   4.02% RBW   3.92% NI   1.71% Others   4.67%

Seats summary SOC   29.95% EPP   25.35% ED   11.52% COM   9.45% LD   7.14% EDA   6.68% RBW   4.61% ER   3.69% NI   1.61%

Results by country

Group Nation	SOC	EPP	ED	COM	LD	EDA	RBW	ER	NI	Total
Belgium	4 PS 3 SP	4 CVP 2 PSC			3 PRL 2 PVV		2 VU 1 Agalev 1 Ecolo		2 Ind.	24
Denmark	3 A 1 Siu	1 D	4 C	1 SF	2 V		4 N			16
France	20 PS	7 UDF 2 UDF (CDS)		10 PCF	6 UDF (PR) 5 UDF 1 UDF (PRV)	20 RPR	UPC	10 FN		81
Greece	10 PASOK	9 ND		3 KKE 1 KKE–E				1 EPEN		24
Ireland		6 FG			1 Ind.	8 FF				15
Italy	9 PSI 3 PSDI	26 DC 1 SVP		26 PCI	3 PLI 2 PRI		1 PdUP 1 DP 1 PSd'Az	5 MSI	3 PR	81
Luxembourg	2 LSAP	3 CSV			1 DP					6
Netherlands	9 PvdA	8 CDA			5 VVD		1 PSP 1 PPR		1 SGP	25
United Kingdom	32 LAB 1 SDLP		45 CON 1 UUP			1 SNP			1 DUP	81
West Germany	33 SPD	34 CDU 7 CSU					7 Grünen			81
Total	130	110	50	41	31	29	20	16	7	434

Statistics

European Parliament election, 1984 - statistics
Area	Dates	Seats	Electorate	Turnout	Previous	Next	Election methods	Sources
European Community (EC-10)	14, 17 June 1984	434	200,505,752	61%	1979	1989	All PR, except UK (not NI) which used FPTP	Archived 25 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine Archived 11 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine

European Parliament election, 1984 - timeline
First Parliament			1984 election and regrouping		Second Parliament
Groups		Pre-elections January 1	Change	Results July 23	New groups		First session July 23
	SOC	124	+6	130		SOC	130
	EPP	117	-7	110		EPP	110
	ED	63	-13	50		ED	50
	COM	48	-7	41		COM	41
	LD	38	-7	31		LD	31
	EPD	22	+7	29		EDA	29
	CDI	12	+8	20		RBW	20
	NI	10	+13	7		NI	7
				16		ER	16
Total		434	+0	434	Total		434
Sources: Archived 11 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine

European Parliament election, 1984 - Delegation at 23 July 1984
Group		Description	Details	%	MEPs
	SOC	Social Democrats	West Germany 33, Belgium 7, Denmark 4, France 20, Italy 12, Luxembourg 2, Netherlands 9, UK 33, Greece 10	30%	130
	EPP	Christian Democrats	West Germany 41, Belgium 6, Denmark 1, France 9, Ireland 6, Italy 27, Luxembourg 3, Netherlands 8, Greece 9	25%	110
	ED	Conservatives	Denmark 4, UK 46	12%	50
	COM	Communists and the Far Left	Denmark 1, France 10, Italy 26, Greece 4	9%	41
	LD	Liberals and Liberal Democrats	Belgium 5, Denmark 2, France 12, Ireland 1, Italy 5, Luxembourg 1, Netherlands 5	7%	31
	EDA	National Conservatives	France 20, Ireland 8, UK 1	7%	29
	RBW	Greens and Regionalists	West Germany 7, Belgium 4, Denmark 4, Italy 3, Netherlands 2	5%	20
	ER	Far-Right Nationalists	France 10, Italy 5, Greece 1	4%	16
	NI	Independents	Belgium 2, Italy 3, Netherlands 1, UK 1	2%	7
Sources: Archived 27 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine				100%	434

References

1. Including two indirectly elected members from West Berlin
2. Confrontation with the 1981 Results
3. As part of the UDF-RPR list
4. Only members of UDF who were part of the EPP group
5. Marius Autran and Jean-Claude Autran. "Elections européennes du 17 juin 1984 (2e législature)". jcautran.free.fr. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
6. Laurent de Boissieu. "Élections européennes 1984". france-politique.fr. France Politique. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
7. Member of the European Democrats at the 1979 election
8. Taking into account the Greek MEPs elected in 1981
9. Including one indirectly elected member from West Berlin
10. Confrontation with the 1981 Results
11. Taking into account the Greek MEPs elected in 1981
12. Confrontation with the 1981 Results
13. Confrontation with the 1981 Results
14. Taking into account the Greek MEPs elected in 1981
15. 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.
16. "ELECTION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 17 JUNE 1984 (in Italian)" (PDF). lipari.istat.it. ISTAT. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
17. As part of the UDF-RPR list
18. Only members of UDF who were part of the EPP group
19. Marius Autran and Jean-Claude Autran. "Elections européennes du 17 juin 1984 (2e législature)". jcautran.free.fr. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
20. Laurent de Boissieu. "Élections européennes 1984". france-politique.fr. France Politique. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
21. "Thomas Joseph MAHER". www.europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
22. "European Election: June 1984, Munster, European Parliament". www.electionsireland.org. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
23. Confrontation with the 1981 Results
24. "List of Danish MEPs (in Danish) on Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.europarl.dk. European Parliament. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
25. As part of the UDF-RPR list
26. Only members of UDF who were part of the EPP group
27. Marius Autran and Jean-Claude Autran. "Elections européennes du 17 juin 1984 (2e législature)". jcautran.free.fr. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
28. Laurent de Boissieu. "Élections européennes 1984". france-politique.fr. France Politique. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
29. In comparison with the European Progressive Democrats' result in 1979
30. Part of the Non-Inscrits at the 1979 election
31. Member of the Technical Group of Independents at the 1979 election
32. Member of the Technical Group of Independents at the 1979 election
33. Member of the Technical Group of Independents at the 1979 election
34. Including the Communist Party of the Netherlands, member of the Communists and Allies Group at the 1979 election
35. Member of the Technical Group of Independents at the 1979 election
36. Luciana Castellina, elected in the Italian Communist Party's list
37. "Europee 17/06/1984 - Area ITALIA + ESTERO - Circoscrizione ITALIA NORD-ORIENTALE". elezionistorico.interno.gov.it. Eligendo. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
38. "Luciana CASTELLINA". www.europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
39. Member of the Technical Group of Independents at the 1979 election
40. Member of the Technical Group of Independents at the 1979 election
41. elected in the Socialist Party's French list
42. Gérard-Libois, Jules; Julin, Malou; Mabille, Xavier (9 November 1984). Élections européennes en Belgique: géographie des votes de préférence [The European Elections in Belgium: Geography of the Preference Votes] (Report) (in French). Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
43. "José H.G. HAPPART". www.europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
44. elected in the Socialist Party's Dutch list
45. Gérard-Libois, Jules; Julin, Malou; Mabille, Xavier (9 November 1984). Élections européennes en Belgique: géographie des votes de préférence [The European Elections in Belgium: Geography of the Preference Votes] (Report) (in French). Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
46. "Jef L.E. ULBURGHS". www.europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 17 August 2025.

External links

• Special issue of Electoral Studies on the elections.
• The election of the Members of the European Parliament European Navigator
• Full Election Details Elections Online (In French)