European elections 2009 – briefing

Background information on the European Parliament and the European elections – information on the EP’s powers, MEPs and elections, the history of European Parliament elections, multilingualism and electoral law.

The European Parliament represents the citizens of the Member States at EU level. It is the only European institution to be directly elected – a procedure established in June 1979 – and the only multinational parliament in the world to be voted in through universal suffrage. From 1958 to 1979, MEPs were appointed by their national governments, and all had dual mandates.

Currently there are 78 MEPs from the UK and 13 from Ireland. The UK will elect 72 MEPs on 4 June 2009 and Ireland will elect 12 on 5 June 2009.

The elections are held every five years. This seventh round of European elections coincides with the 30th anniversary of the first European elections held by universal suffrage.

Since 1958, the European Parliament has changed considerably, in part due to the progressive expansion of the EU. The number of Member States has climbed from six to 27; the number of MEPs has jumped from 142 to 736, and the official languages of the EU have risen from four to 23. Furthermore, successive revisions of the Treaties have given the EP increased power, and it has moved from a mere consultative role in 1958, to co-decision with representatives of national governments on the majority of EU legislation.

The 2009 elections will take place between 4 and 7 June, 2009. The actual polling days will vary from country to country according to local custom, and the results from each of the 27 Member States will not be made known until the evening of 7 June.

The majority of Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) will hold the elections on Sunday, 7 June. The Latvians, Cypriots, Maltese and Slovakians will go to the polling stations on 6 June. The and Netherlands will vote on . will vote on . In certain Member States, the voting period will be spread over two days: 5 and 6 June for the Czech Republic, 6 and 7 June for Italy.

The number of MEPs has increased in line with the successive enlargements of the EU.

Since 2007, the EP has had 785 MEPs originating from 27 countries. However, the Treaty of Nice, which was modified after the admission of Bulgaria and Romania, states that the total number of MEPs will decrease to 736 after the 2009 elections.

MEPs by country indicating number of seats allocated to each Member State after 2009 elections and after Treaty of Lisbon

If the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force after the 2009 elections, the total number of MEPs will temporarily rise to 754, as decided by the European Council in December 2008. Germany would be the only country to “lose” MEPs under the Lisbon Treaty, although it would be allowed to keep its 99 MEPs until the next round of European elections. This accounts for the 754 MEPs voted in for a transitory 5-year period.