Every five years, European voters decide on the composition of the European Parliament. By electing Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), they also decide on EU legislation, the EU’s annual budget, cooperation with national parliaments and the supervision of EU institutions.
The European elections took place across Europe from Thursday to Sunday, 6 to 9 June 2024. These were the tenth direct elections for this legislative body, and the first after Brexit.
50.97% of the 357 million eligible citizens voted in the election. Participation increased slightly compared to 2019 (50.66%) and it was the highest in 30 years, although countries responded differently and 14 of them showed a drop on participation.
These elections saw a shift to the right in the European Parliament, with many centre-right and far-right parties improving on their performance in the previous legislature. Although the gains of far-right parties were less than expected, there is a tendency for populist and eurosceptic parties to increase their results. These results have also had an impact on the domestic politics of some Member States.
Once elected, parties often form groups consisting of MEPs with aligned ideologies. MEPs organise themselves into ideological groups rather than national ones. Although most political groups in the European Parliament correspond to a political party, there are cases where MEPs from diferent political parties come together in a joint political group. A formally recognised political group must have at least 23 MEPs from at least one quarter of the Member States (i.e. a minimum of seven). MEPs can only belong to one political group. Some do not belong to a political group at all and are known as “non-attached” Members.
There are currently eight political groups. In terms of seats, the EPP – Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) is the largest group in the EP, followed by the S&D – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament; PfE – Patriots for Europe; ECR – European Conservatives and Reformists Group; Renew Europe – Renew Europe Group; Greens/EFA – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance; The Left – The Left Group in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL; and ESN – Europe of Sovereign Nations. There are 32 MEPs who are NI – Non-attached Members.
On 18 July, Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected President of the European Commission by the European Parliament and Roberta Metsola was re-elected President of the European Parliament.
The European Parliament has to respond to a corpus of legislation left unfinished by its predecessors. These ongoing laws concern foreign affairs and defence, digital transition, consumer policy and health, social and economic recovery, the green deal, asylum and migration, and democracy and the rule of law.
It is also time to see how Europe deals with the challenges it faces, such as disinformation and fake reality, adaptation to climate overshoot, the future of the automotive sector, the financing of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, and the prosecution of international core crimes and reparations for their victims, among others.
With regard to Sine Qua Non, it will also be important to monitor how the EU implements the priorities set out in the declaration A Call to Defend Democracy: 10 Priorities for the EU, which we signed together with other organisations and individuals, to strengthen democracy both within the Union and globally.
Know more
About the European Parliament
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en
A Call to Defend Democracy: 10 Priorities for the EU
August 2024