European elections 2009 - briefing

14 May 2009
by eub2 -- last modified 14 May 2009

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 2009 European elections will take place on 4-7 June 2009, in each of the 27 Member States of the European Union. More than 375 million EU citizens will be able to vote for their chosen representative for a five-year period: 736 MEPs from 27 EU Member States.

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.

When will Europeans go to the polling stations?

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 UK and Netherlands will vote on 4 June. Ireland will vote on 5 June. 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.

How many MEPs are there?

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

Member State	Current no. of MEPs	No. of MEPs after the 2009 elections	No. of MEPs after the Treaty of Lisbon
Germany	99	99	96
France	78	72	74
United Kingdom	78	72	73
Italy	78	72	73
Spain	54	50	54
Poland	54	50	51
Romania	35	33	33
Netherlands	27	25	26
Belgium	24	22	22
Greece	24	22	22
Hungary	24	22	22
Czech Republic	24	22	22
Portugal	24	22	22
Sweden	19	18	20
Bulgaria	18	17	18
Austria	18	17	19
Denmark	14	13	13
Slovakia	14	13	13
Finland	14	13	13
Lithuania	13	12	12
Ireland	13	12	12
Latvia	9	8	9
Slovenia	7	7	8
Estonia	6	6	6
Cyprus	6	6	6
Luxembourg	6	6	6
Malta	5	5	6
Total	785	736	751

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.

Source: European Parliament