| Netherlands | |
|---|---|
| European Parliament constituency | |
 Location among the current constituencies | |
| Member state | Netherlands |
| Created | 1979 |
| MEPs |
|
| Sources | |
The Netherlands is a European Parliament constituency for elections in the European Union covering the member state of Netherlands. It is currently represented by twenty-nine Members of the European Parliament. Until the 2009 European Parliament election, it excluded the Dutch in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.
| Year | Electorate | Votes | Turnout | Blank votes | Invalid votes | % | Valid | % | Lists | Combined lists | Electoral alliances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 9,808,176 | 5,700,603 | 58.12% | 33,300 | 0.59% | 5,667,303 | 99.41% | 10 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1984 | 10,485,014 | 5,334,582 | 50.88% | 37,833 | 0.71% | 5,296,749 | 99.29% | 9 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1989 | 11,099,123 | 5,270,374 | 47.48% | 28,041 | 0.53% | 5,242,333 | 99.47% | 10 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 11,618,677 | 4,146,730 | 35.69% | 13,173 | 0.32% | 4,133,557 | 99.68% | 11 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 11,862,864 | 3,560,764 | 30.02% | 16,356 | 0.46% | 3,544,408 | 99.54% | 11 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 12,168,878 | 4,777,121 | 39.26% | 11,444 | 0.24% | 4,765,677 | 99.76% | 15 | 1 | 3 | |
| 2009 | 12,445,497 | 4,573,743 | 36.75% | 10,013 | 9,866 | 0.44% | 4,553,864 | 99.56% | 17 | 1 | 3 |
| 2014 | 12,815,496 | 4,782,251 | 37.32% | 16,786 | 11,719 | 0.60% | 4,753,746 | 99.40% | 19 | 1 | 2 |
| 2019 | 13,164,688 | 5,519,776 | 41.93% | 10,267 | 11,696 | 0.40% | 5,497,813 | 99.60% | 16 | 2 | NA |
| List | Election year | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 1984 | 1989 | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2009 | 2014 | 2019 | ||
| Christian Democratic Appeal | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | |
| Labour Party | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Democrats 66 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| C.P.N. Green Party Netherlands P.P.R. P.S.P. | 2 | |||||||||
| Rainbow (ppr-psp-cpn-evp-gpn-indep.) | 2 | |||||||||
| GroenLinks | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| SGP, GPV and RPF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| Christian Union – Reformed Political Party | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| Socialist Party | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
| Europe Transparent | 2 | |||||||||
| Party for Freedom | 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| Party for the Animals | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| 50PLUS | 1 | |||||||||
| Forum for Democracy | 3 | |||||||||
| Total | 25 | 25 | 25 | 31 | 31 | 27 | 25 | 26 | 26 | |
The 1979 European election was the first direct election to the European Parliament to be held and hence the first time the Netherlands had voted. Four parties won seats: the conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the progressive liberal Democrats 66 (D66), the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the social-democratic Labour Party. Five other nationally represented parties competed but won no seats. 58.1% of the Dutch population turned out on election day.
The 1984 European election was the second election to the European Parliament and the second for the Netherlands. In these elections two alliances formed successful common lists:
The progressive liberal Democrats 66 (D66) lost its two seats and disappeared from the parliament. 50.9% of the Dutch population turned out.
The 1989 European election was the third election to the European Parliament and the third for the Netherlands. The conservative liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) lost seats to the progressive liberal Democrats 66 (D66), which returned to the European parliament after a five-year absence. 47.5% of the electorate turned out.
The 1994 European election was the fourth election to the European Parliament and the fourth for the Netherlands. The liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and Democrats 66 (D66) parties and the orthodox Protestant alliance of Political Reformed Party, Reformatory Political Federation and Reformed Political Alliance profited from the increase in the number of seats. While the Christian Democratic Appeal and the Labour Party lost a considerable number of votes, but remained stable in terms of seats. 35.7% of Dutch voters turned out on election day.
The 1999 European election was the fifth election to the European Parliament and the fifth for the Netherlands. With only 30 percent of the population showing up, the voter turnout hit an all-time low for Dutch elections on the national level. In the election, GreenLeft performed particularly well quadrupling their seats from one to four, the Socialist Party also won its first seat. These gains were made at the cost of the Christian Democratic Appeal, Democrats 66 and the Labour Party, which lost one, two and two seats respectively.
The 2004 European election was the sixth election to the European Parliament and the sixth for the Netherlands. The election was held on 10 June 2004. The ruling centre-right parties, the Christian Democratic Appeal and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy polled poorly, while the opposition Labour Party and Socialist Party gained ground. The anti-fraud party Europe Transparent of whistle blower Paul van Buitenen unexpectedly won two seats.
The 2009 European election was the seventh election to the European Parliament and the seventh for the Netherlands.
The 2014 European election was the eighth election to the European Parliament and the eighth for the Netherlands. The Christian Democratic Appeal won the most seats and was seen as the winner of the 2014 elections, but was overtaken by Democrats 66 in terms of numbers of votes. The Christian Democratic Appeal won an extra seat thanks to their electoral alliance with Christian Union – Reformed Political Party (Christian Union-SGP). The eurosceptic Party for Freedom (PVV) was the biggest loser, although it only lost 1 seat. In contrast to other European countries, the eurosceptic movement did worse than in previous elections.
The 2019 European election was the ninth election to the European Parliament and the ninth for the Netherlands.
The 2024 European election will be the tenth election to the European Parliament and the tenth for the Netherlands.
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party, is a party of the centre-right, which promotes private enterprise and economic liberalism.
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands.
The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.
The Christian Union is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more socially conservative positions on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. The party describes itself as "social Christian".
The Reformed Political Party is a conservative Calvinist political party in the Netherlands. The term Reformed is not a reference to political reform but is a synonym for Calvinism—a major branch of Protestantism. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands existing in its present form, and has been in opposition for its entire existence. Since 1925, it has won between 1.6% and 2.5% of the votes in general elections. Owing to its orthodox political ideals and its traditional role in the opposition, the party has been called a testimonial party. Since the general election of 2012, it has held 3 of the 150 seats of the House of Representatives.
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party and the Christian Historical Union; it has participated in all but three cabinets since it became a unitary party.
Democrats 66 is a social liberal political party in the Netherlands, which positions itself in the centre of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).
The second Balkenende cabinet was the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands from 27 May 2003 until 7 July 2006. The cabinet was formed by the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 (D66) after the election of 2003. The cabinet was a centre-right coalition and had a slim majority in the House of Representatives with Christian Democratic Leader Jan Peter Balkenende serving as Prime Minister. Liberal Leader Gerrit Zalm, a former Minister of Finance, served as Deputy Prime Minister and returned as Minister of Finance, while former Progressive-Liberal Leader Thom de Graaf served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister without Portfolio for the Interior.
An election of Members of the European Parliament representing Netherlands constituency for the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament was held on 10 June 2004. It was part of the wider 2004 European election. Fifteen parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 27 seats..
Liberalism in the Netherlands started as an anti-monarchical effort spearheaded by the Dutch statesman Thorbecke, who almost single-handedly wrote the 1848 Constitution of the Netherlands that turned the country into a constitutional monarchy.
The Political Party of Radicals was a Christian-radical, progressive Christian and green political party in the Netherlands. The PPR played a relatively small role in Dutch politics and merged with other left-wing parties to form GreenLeft in 1991.
The first Kok cabinet, also called the first Purple cabinet was the executive branch of the Dutch government from 22 August 1994 until 3 August 1998. The cabinet was formed by the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA), the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and the social-liberal Democrats 66 after the election of 1994. The cabinet was a centrist grand coalition and had a substantial majority in the House of Representatives with Labour Leader Wim Kok serving as Prime Minister. Prominent Liberal politician Hans Dijkstal served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, while Progressive-Liberal Leader Hans van Mierlo served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
An election of Members of the European Parliament representing Netherlands constituency for the 1994–1999 term of the European Parliament was held on 9 June 1994. It was part of the wider 1994 European election. Eleven parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for 31 seats..
This article gives an overview of Christian democracy in the Netherlands, which is also called confessionalism, including political Catholicism and Protestantism. It is limited to Christian democratic parties with substantial support, mainly proved by having had a representation in parliament. The sign ⇒ means a reference to another party in that scheme.
An election of Members of the European Parliament representing Netherlands constituency took place on 4 June 2009. Seventeen parties competed in a D'Hondt type election for the available 25 seats. For the first time, all Dutch residents of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba were also entitled to vote in the election.
Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 12 September 2012 after Prime Minister Mark Rutte handed in his government's resignation to Queen Beatrix on 23 April. The 150 seats of the House of Representatives were contested using party-list proportional representation. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) received a plurality of the votes, followed by the Labour Party (PvdA).
An election of the Members of the European Parliament from the Netherlands was held on 22 May 2014. This is the 8th time the elections have been held for the European elections in the Netherlands.
General elections were held in the Netherlands from 15 to 17 March 2021 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives. Following the elections and lengthy coalition formation talks, the sitting government remained in power.
An election of the Members of the European Parliament from the Netherlands was held on 23 May 2019. It is the ninth time the elections have been held for the European elections in the Netherlands. The number of Dutch seats was to increase from 26 to 29 following Brexit, but due to the extension of the Article 50 process in the United Kingdom, the number of seats to be elected will remain at 26.
  European Parliament, Netherlands | |
|---|---|
| Delegations | |
| Elections | |
| Current parties | |
| Former parties | |
| Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Green Progressive Accord | |
| SGP, RPF and GPV | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Labour Party | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Rainbow | |
| Democrats 66 | |
| SGP, GPV and RPF | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Labour Party | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Democrats 66 | |
| SGP, GPV and RPF | |
| GreenLeft | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Labour Party | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| GroenLinks | |
| SGP, GPV and RPF |
|
| Democrats 66 | |
| Socialist Party | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Labour Party | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| GroenLinks | |
| Europe Transparent | |
| Socialist Party | |
| Christian Union – Reformed Political Party | |
| Democrats 66 | |
| Independent (members who left their parties) | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Party for Freedom | |
| Labour Party | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Democrats 66 | |
| GroenLinks | |
| Socialist Party | |
| Christian Union – Reformed Political Party | |
| Independent (members who left their parties) | |
| Christian Democratic Appeal | |
|---|---|
| Democrats 66 | |
| Party for Freedom | |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy | |
| Labour Party | |
| Socialist Party | |
| Christian Union – Reformed Political Party | |
| GroenLinks | |
| Party for the Animals | |
† Hans Jansen died on 5 May 2015. He was replaced by Auke Zijlstra on 1 September 2015. | |