European elections 2014

This article describes the 2014 election in general. For the election in Germany, see European Election in Germany 2014 , for the election in Austria, see European Election in Austria 2014 . Further, individual national elections can be found under Category: 2014 European elections .

← 20092019 → European elections 2014
Composition of parliament according to political groups when it was constituted on July 1, 2014 ( gains / losses compared to the end of the previous legislative period ):
	EPP	Christian Democrats , Conservatives	221	−53
	S&D	Social democrats	191	- 04th
	EKR	Conservatives , EU skeptics	70	+13
	ALDE	Liberals , centrists	67	−16
	VEL / NGL	Leftists , communists , leftist socialists	52	+17
	Greens / EFA	Greens , regionalists	50	- 08
	EFDD	EU skeptics , populists	48	+17
	Non-attached		52	+19
total			751	−15

European Parliament logo

Logo of the EU campaign “Act. Participate. Move."

Partition wall with election posters in Hanover, including the election of the regional president

The 2014 European elections were the eighth European elections in which the European Parliament was directly elected. In accordance with the provisions in the direct election file , it took place between Thursday, May 22nd and Sunday, May 25th, 2014 . In Germany , Austria , Belgium and Luxembourg , elections took place on May 25, 2014.

It was the first European elections after the Treaty of Lisbon came into force , so that for the first time the redistribution of the number of seats per country was applicable. The next election of the EU Parliament was the 2019 European elections .

Election date

In accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of the Direct Election Act, the election took place exactly five years after the previous European elections, between Thursday and Sunday. Since the 2009 European elections fell on June 4-7, 2009, the 2014 European elections should have taken place between June 5-8, 2014. A unanimous decision by the Council of the EU , which must be taken at least a year before the scheduled date, could move the date of the election up to two months forward or one month back; in any case, it had to cover a period from Thursday to Sunday. With its resolution of 22 November 2012 on the elections to the European Parliament in 2014 (2012/2829 (RSP)), the European Parliament called on the Council to suspend the European elections either on May 15-18 or on May 22nd May 25, 2014 preferable. On June 14, 2013, the council decided to hold the elections from May 22-25, 2014.

Each member state of the European Union can decide within this period when the polling stations are open in their own country. The exact voting date therefore follows the respective traditions in the individual countries: In Germany, the election took place on Sunday, May 25, 2014, in Austria and other countries, too, votes are usually held on Sundays, in Great Britain and the Netherlands, however, on Thursdays.

The date was also used for other elections in some countries. For example, in Belgium the election of the Chamber of Deputies and the election of the parliament of the German-speaking community and in Hamburg the elections to the district assemblies took place by law parallel to the European elections. Local elections were held in parts of Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Greece .

Elections in the individual EU countries

May 22	23. May	May 24th	25. May
Netherlands , United Kingdom	Ireland	Latvia , Malta , Slovakia , French overseas territories	Belgium , Bulgaria , Denmark , Germany , Estonia , Finland , France (excluding overseas territories), Greece , Italy , Croatia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Austria , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Sweden , Slovenia , Spain , Hungary , Cyprus
	Czech Republic

Election mode

Distribution of seats in the European Parliament by country

Member State	2009	2011/13	2014
Belgium	22nd	22nd	21st
Bulgaria	17th	18th	17th
Denmark	13	13	13
Germany	99	99	96
Estonia	6th	6th	6th
Finland	13	13	13
France	72	74	74
Greece	22nd	22nd	21st
Ireland	12	12	11
Italy	72	73	73
Croatia	-	(12)	11
Latvia	8th	9	8th
Lithuania	12	12	11
Luxembourg	6th	6th	6th
Malta	5	6th	6th
Netherlands	25th	26th	26th
Austria	17th	19th	18th
Poland	50	51	51
Portugal	22nd	22nd	21st
Romania	33	33	32
Sweden	18th	20th	20th
Slovakia	13	13	13
Slovenia	7th	8th	8th
Spain	50	54	54
Czech Republic	22nd	22nd	21st
Hungary	22nd	22nd	21st
United Kingdom	72	73	73
Cyprus	6th	6th	6th
Total:	736	754/766	751

Plenary hall of the European Parliament

Elections were made in the 28 member states of the EU

Applicable suffrage

According to the existing European electoral law, each Member State has a fixed number of seats, whereby, according to the principle of degressive proportionality, countries with many inhabitants generally have more seats than countries with fewer inhabitants. However, states with few inhabitants have more seats per inhabitant than states with many inhabitants. All EU citizens above a certain age limit, which each country could determine itself, were eligible to vote and to vote . Union citizens who were not citizens of the country in which they live were free to choose whether to vote in the country of their citizenship or their place of residence. Citizens with multiple nationalities could also choose which of these countries they wanted to vote in. The electoral system in all countries is proportional representation , whereby the threshold clause may not exceed five percent. However, it is up to the Member States to determine the exact details.

Community law foundations for the 2014 European elections are:

• the Treaty on European Union (in particular Art. 14 Paragraphs 2 and 3),
• the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (in particular Art. 223 paragraph 1),
• the direct election act - decision and act introducing general direct elections for members of the European Parliament ,
• Council Directive 93/109 / EC of 6 December 1993 on the details of exercising the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for Union citizens residing in a member state of which they are not a national in the consolidated version of 27 January 2013 .

Distribution of the seats among the member countries

With the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon , the total number of members of the European Parliament was increased from 736 to 751. Eleven countries were therefore able to send a total of 18 additional MEPs (see “Additional members after the Treaty of Lisbon came into force” ). At the same time, the maximum number per country was set at 96. Germany, however, was the only country affected to retain its 99 seats until the new elections in 2014. With the accession of Croatia on July 1, 2013, this country can send twelve members to the European Parliament. This increased the number of MPs to 766.

For the 2014 election, the number was adjusted back to 751 mandates. In addition, the European Parliament launched an initiative to comprehensively reform European electoral law before the 2014 election. Some of the MEPs should no longer be elected within the framework of national seat contingents, but rather from common Europe-wide lists. For this purpose 25 additional seats were planned, for which every political party at European level and every political group in the European Parliament can propose a list of candidates. In addition, the national seat contingents should be recalculated and more uniform rules should be drawn up for their election, such as a uniform election date and clearer guidelines for structuring the proportional representation system. A corresponding proposal was introduced in 2008 by Andrew Duff , Parliament's rapporteur responsible , and adopted by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs in April 2011 . However, such a reform would have made it necessary to change the EU Treaty and would therefore have had to be ratified by all EU member states. The proposal was eventually dropped. Likewise, another proposal by Duff to distribute the seats was not accepted.

At the suggestion of Roberto Gualtieri and Rafał Trzaskowski , the following initiative was presented to the European Council: Croatia will be allocated eleven seats in accordance with the "degressive proportionality" provided for in the Lisbon Treaty. Eleven countries which, according to the degressive proportionality and taking into account the minimum number of six seats, have too many mandates, each have to give up one of their previous seats. This proposal was adopted by the European Council on June 28, 2013.

Special regulations of the member countries

Different seat allocation procedures applied in the individual countries . The most common method used was the D'Hondt method ; it has been used in 17 countries. The Hare-Niemeyer procedure , the Sainte-Laguë procedure or the transferable individual voting procedure (STV) were used in three countries . The quota system with droop quota was used in two countries . In one country the Enishimeni-Analogiki procedure was used.

Germany

With its judgment (file number 2 BvC 4/10, 2 BvC 6/10 and 2 BvC 8/10) of November 9, 2011, the Federal Constitutional Court declared the previous five percent threshold in European elections to be unconstitutional. Among other things, 2.8 million votes were not taken into account in the last election in 2009. The verdict was borne by five of the eight judges. The judges Rudolf Mellinghoff and Udo Di Fabio criticized the verdict of their colleagues in a separate vote. In their opinion, the threshold clause was permissible because it is intended to reduce the functional impairment of the EU Parliament.

As a result, on June 13, 2013 , the Bundestag passed a three percent threshold for the elections to the European Parliament with the votes of the CDU , CSU , FDP , SPD and Greens . On the other hand, the association Mehr Demokratie lodged a constitutional complaint . Several small parties submitted organ dispute proceedings to the Federal Constitutional Court . On December 18, 2013, the Federal Constitutional Court heard the complaints orally. On February 26, 2014, three months before the election (May 25), the Federal Constitutional Court also declared the three percent hurdle to be unconstitutional and null and void .

German legal bases for the 2014 European elections are the European Election Act (EuWG), the European Election Code (EuWO), the Election Statistics Act (WStatG) and the European Parliament Act (EuAbgG).

Italy

A threshold clause has been in place in Italy since 2009. It is 4 percent to take account of the strong fragmentation of the Italian political landscape. It was contested but not overturned until the 2014 European elections. Parties that do not have a seat in the European Parliament or in one of the two houses of the Italian Parliament must collect 30,000 support signatures to be admitted.

Selection mode overview table

EU country	Seats	Election day	Voting age (active / passive)	Constituencies	Preferential vote	PANA sheer	blocking clause	Seat allocation procedure	Elective compulsory
Belgium	21st	So	18/21	03	Yes	No	No	D'Hondt	Yes
Bulgaria	17th	So	18/21	01	Yes	No	Hare rate (~ 5.88%)	Hare / Niemeyer	No
Denmark	13	So	18/18	01	Yes	No	No	D'Hondt	No
Germany	96	So	18/18	16 *	No	No	No	Sainte-Laguë	No
Estonia	06th	So	18/21	01	No	No	No	D'Hondt	No
Finland	13	So	18/18	01	Yes	No	No	D'Hondt	No
France	74	Sat + Sun	18/23	08th	No	No	5% per constituency	D'Hondt	No
Greece	21st	So	18/25	01	No	No	3%	Enishimeni Analogiki	Yes
Ireland	11	Fr.	18/21	03	Yes	Yes	No	STV	No
Italy	73	So	18/25	05 *	Yes	No	4% nationwide	Hare / Niemeyer	No
Croatia	11	So	18/18	01	Yes	No	5%	D'Hondt	No
Latvia	08th	Sat	18/21	01	Yes	No	5%	Sainte-Laguë	No
Lithuania	11	So	18/21	01	Yes	No	5%	Hare / Niemeyer	No
Luxembourg	06th	So	18/18	01	Yes	Yes	No	D'Hondt	Yes
Malta	06th	Sat	18/18	01	Yes	Yes	No	STV	No
Netherlands	26th	do	18/18	01	Yes	No	Hare rate (~ 3.85%)	D'Hondt (sub-distribution: Hare / Niemeyer)	No
Austria	18th	So	16/18	01	Yes	No	4%	D'Hondt	No
Poland	51	So	18/21	13 *	No	No	5% nationwide	D'Hondt (sub-distribution: Hare / Niemeyer)	No
Portugal	21st	So	18/18	01	No	No	No	D'Hondt	No
Romania	32	So	18/23	01	No	No	5%	D'Hondt	No
Sweden	20th	So	18/18	01	Yes	No	4%	Sainte-Laguë (modified)	No
Slovakia	13	Sat	18/21	01	Yes	No	5%	Quota procedure with droop quota	No
Slovenia	08th	So	18/18	01	Yes	No	4%	D'Hondt	No
Spain	54	So	18/18	01	No	No	No	D'Hondt	No
Czech Republic	21st	Fri + Sat	18/21	01	Yes	No	5%	D'Hondt	No
Hungary	21st	So	18/18	01	No	No	5%	D'Hondt	No
United Kingdom : Great Britain	73	do	18/21	11	No	No	No	D'Hondt	No
United Kingdom : Northern Ireland				01	No	No		STV
Cyprus	06th	So	18/25	01	Yes	No	No	Quota procedure with droop quota	Yes

^* national balance

Parties and candidates

Candidates for Commission President

Jean-Claude Juncker	Martin Schulz	Guy Verhofstadt	Ska Keller José Bové	Alexis Tsipras	Peter Sunde Amelia Andersdotter
Christian Democrats ( EPP )	Social Democrats ( PES )	Liberals ( ALDE , EDP )	Greens ( EGP )	Left ( EL )	Pirates ( PPEU )

National parties competed in the European elections in the 28 member states. However, some of these had come together to form political parties at the European level or European parties . The Treaty of Lisbon , which came into force on December 1, 2009, stipulates that the European Parliament elects the President of the European Commission proposed (by the European Council). When making the proposal, the European Council must take into account the result of the European elections (cf. Art. 17 (7) TEU). The major European parties had therefore announced that they would put up candidates for the office of Commission President before the election . Only Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz were given realistic chances.

European People's Party

The Christian Democratic and conservative European People's Party (EPP) is the European party with the strongest votes in the European Parliament - the EPP party had 221 members. The EPP's top candidate was nominated at a congress on March 6th in Dublin . Former Luxembourg Prime Minister and Euro Group leader Jean-Claude Juncker was considered the favorite in the run-up to the election. EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier was a further candidate . Former Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis withdrew his candidacy the day before the election. Juncker was eventually elected with 382 votes. Barnier received 245 votes. In Germany, the EPP CDU (except in Bavaria) and CSU (only in Bavaria) and in Austria the ÖVP .

European Social Democratic Party

The Party of European Socialists (PES) is the second largest party at European level. It was represented by 192 MEPs in the European Parliament and 196 MEPs in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Social Democrats (S&D). The PES candidate for Commission President was EU Parliament President Martin Schulz . The German member is the SPD , the Austrian the SPÖ .

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

The liberal party Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) was the third largest European party with 73 MEPs (83 in the ALDE group ) before the election. Your top candidates are the ALDE parliamentary group leader and former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt , as well as the Vice President of the EU Commission Olli Rehn . ALDE is represented in Germany by the FDP . Austrian member is NEOS . The non-party Angelika Werthmann (formerly list Dr. Martin , now BZÖ ) was a member of the ALDE Group.

Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformers

The conservative and EU-skeptical Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists ( AEKR) was previously represented in the European Parliament with 54 members, while its European Conservatives and Reformists (EKR) group had 57 members. The AEKR had not nominated a candidate for Commission President because in its opinion the nomination of candidates by European parties lacked public and legal legitimacy. The listing of Spitzenkandidaten would be subject to a federal principle, which is neither to be found in the EU treaties nor desired by the population of the member states. Until 2014, the AEKR was mainly supported by the British Conservatives , Polish Law and Justice and the Czech Democratic Citizens Party .

European Green Party

The European Green Party (EGP) had 44 members in the European Parliament. In the joint group with the European Free Alliance G / EFA there were 52 parliamentarians. The Greens determined their two top candidates in a Europe-wide online area code. Candidates were José Bové , Rebecca Harms , Monica Frassoni and Ska Keller . The German Ska Keller was elected ahead of the French José Bové. German members of the EGP are Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen , Austrian Die Grünen - Die Grüne Alternative .

European left

The European Left (EL) had 15 members in the European Parliament before the election. The Confederal Group of the European United Left / Nordic Green Left (GUE / NGL) had 35 members. At the meeting of the Council of Party Chairs of the EL on October 19, 2013 in Madrid, it was decided to elect a common candidate for the office of Chair of the EU Commission in order to prevent “the forces responsible for the crisis” from obtained a monopoly during the election campaign. At the next party congress on December 13-15, 2013 in Madrid, the council decided to propose the candidacy of Alexis Tsipras , as he is “the voice of resistance and hope against ultra-liberal politics and the extreme right”. The German member is Die Linke , in Austria the Communist Party of Austria , which competes differently within the electoral alliance Europe . The German Communist Party is an observer.

Europe of freedom and democracy

The EU-skeptical Movement for a Europe of Freedom and Democracy (MELD) was founded by some of the members of the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group. MELD had 26 members of the European Parliament. The EFD, which also includes UKIP , was the smallest political group with 31 members. The Austrian non-attached MEP Ewald Stadler ( REKOS ) belongs to MELD .

European Free Alliance

The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that comprises national, regional and autonomous parties of the European Union. The European Free Alliance had seven MEPs before the election and was able to increase the number of seats to eleven. These traditionally belong to the Greens / EFA group. In Germany, the Bavarian Party stood for the EFA.

European pirate party

The European Pirate Party (PPEU) was represented before the election with two deputies from Sweden in the European Parliament, the Greens / EFA group had joined. The PPEU has nominated Swedish MEP Amelia Andersdotter and The Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde as candidates for the office of Commission President. The German member is the Pirate Party Germany , the Austrian member is the Pirate Party of Austria , which started differently in the electoral alliance Europe .

European Alliance for Freedom

The parties of the right-wing populist European Alliance for Freedom (EAF) were represented by seven non-attached members in the European Parliament. The parties involved in the EAF, Front National , Freedom Party of Austria , Vlaams Belang and Sweden Democrats had announced that they would form an alliance with other parties for the European elections. In June 2015, the Europe of Nations and Freedom Group was formed , which is mainly supported by members of the EAF and the MENL, which was founded in October 2014 . The EAF did not nominate a candidate for the Commission President.

Other parties

• The centrist European Democratic Party (EDP) had twelve members in the European Parliament before the election. She has been in a joint group with the ALDE since 2004, but some members also belong to the EPP group. Like the ALDE, the EDP has chosen Guy Verhofstadt as its top candidate. Two politicians from the Free Voters from Germany are individual members of the EDP, one of whom was elected to join the ALDE parliamentary group after the election .
• The far-right Alliance of European National Movements had four non-attached MEPs before the election.
• The initiative of communist and workers' parties in Europe was represented in the European Parliament by three MEPs from the GUE / NGL group.
• The Christian-Conservative European Christian Political Movement (ECPB) had two Dutch MPs in the European Parliament, who are divided between the ECR and EFD parliamentary groups. In Germany, the ECPB members of the AUF Party and the Party of Biblical Christians (PBC) stood for election.
• The EU-skeptical Europeans United for Democracy was represented in the EU Parliament by a Danish member of the GUE / NGL group.
• Euro Animal 7 was an electoral alliance of seven animal welfare parties that were not represented in the EU Parliament before the election.

Forecasts

Numerous forecasts based on national surveys were available for the distribution of the 751 seats after the coming election. They related to the existing political groups or groupings in the European Parliament. With regard to the table, it should be noted that, in particular for new parties and political associations, it is not yet clear whether they will join a parliamentary group or remain non-attached. They are therefore mostly listed as non-attached (f'los). The allocation is made differently depending on the publication or source, especially since the composition of the political groups has changed in some cases since the European elections in 2009.

Forecasts in detail

date source EPP S&D ALDE G / EFA GUE / NGL EKR EVS f'los May 22, 2014 Scenari Politici 219 208 66 41 48 43 31 95 May 21, 2014 election.de 219 202 71 42 51 50 57 56 May 21, 2014 Cicero Group 204 190 83 54 55 35 31 99 May 20, 2014 PollWatch2014 217 201 59 44 53 42 40 95 May 20, 2014 Electionista 213 196 59 41 50 45 38 109 19th May 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 217 199 61 50 46 42 33 103 19th May 2014 The (European) federalist 215 202 70 48 49 39 29 99 19th May 2014 Scenari Politici 213 224 63 39 47 42 29 94 May 16, 2014 Cicero Group 202 195 83 52 55 37 29 98 May 15, 2014 election.de 220 209 74 43 50 48 56 51 May 14, 2014 PollWatch2014 212 209 63 38 52 43 39 95 May 12, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 221 194 62 52 45 44 33 100 May 12, 2014 The (European) federalist 216 212 78 45 46 39 28 87 May 12, 2014 Scenari Politici 210 225 66 40 47 42 29 92 May 8, 2014 Cicero Group 199 196 83 50 54 39 30th 100 May 7, 2014 The (European) federalist 213 213 74 45 48 38 27 89 May 7, 2014 PollWatch2014 216 205 63 41 49 39 39 99 May 5, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 209 205 60 47 47 44 34 107 May 5, 2014 Scenari Politici 210 222 63 38 51 42 29 96 May 2, 2014 election.de 216 209 75 45 51 47 57 51 April 30, 2014 PollWatch2014 213 208 62 42 51 42 36 97 April 30, 2014 Cicero Group 197 198 84 51 54 39 30th 98 April 29, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 215 205 58 45 50 40 32 106 April 28, 2014 The (European) federalist 210 214 75 40 51 42 26th 93 April 28, 2014 Scenari Politici 214 219 63 37 53 41 28 96 April 24, 2014 election.de 207 218 73 42 57 55 50 49 April 24, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 215 209 57 45 48 40 30th 107 April 23, 2014 PollWatch2014 217 208 63 41 51 41 36 94 April 22, 2014 Cicero Group 205 200 83 48 55 35 28 97 April 21, 2014 Electionista 212 205 60 42 56 43 34 99 April 21, 2014 The (European) federalist 216 215 74 44 48 41 26th 87 April 21, 2014 Scenari Politici 215 218 65 37 53 42 25th 96 April 16, 2014 PollWatch2014 222 209 60 38 53 42 34 93 April 14, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 213 209 61 42 49 38 32 107 April 14, 2014 The (European) federalist 218 216 72 43 50 41 27 84 April 14, 2014 Scenari Politici 215 219 64 37 57 41 25th 93 April 9, 2014 Cicero Group 208 198 86 47 59 39 28 89 April 7, 2014 The (European) federalist 219 212 72 45 51 39 27 86 April 7, 2014 Scenari Politici 216 220 63 35 56 41 25th 95 April 4, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 218 208 60 44 51 41 29 104 April 2, 2014 PollWatch2014 212 212 62 38 55 46 36 90 April 2, 2014 The (European) federalist 213 213 72 48 55 43 28 79 April 2, 2014 Cicero Group 203 198 86 56 56 39 28 90 March 31, 2014 Scenari Politici 212 224 63 36 56 41 25th 94 March 27, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 212 208 58 43 53 40 32 105 March 27, 2014 The (European) federalist 212 213 72 44 58 43 28 81 March 26, 2014 Cicero Group 198 196 84 52 61 43 27 90 March 24, 2014 Scenari Politici 212 226 63 34 57 41 26th 92 March 20, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 211 206 62 43 52 39 32 106 March 19, 2014 PollWatch2014 213 214 66 38 57 40 33 90 March 19, 2014 The (European) federalist 211 215 71 43 58 39 30th 84 March 18, 2014 Cicero Group 201 195 87 51 58 41 24 94 17th March 2014 Scenari Politici 216 226 63 33 58 41 30th 84 March 14, 2014 The (European) federalist 211 219 69 43 56 41 25th 87 March 13, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 219 204 61 45 51 42 26th 103 March 10, 2014 Scenari Politici 217 226 63 34 62 41 30th 78 March 6, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 211 211 60 46 51 43 25th 104 5th March 2014 PollWatch2014 202 209 61 44 67 45 31 92 March 3, 2014 Scenari Politici 216 224 63 34 62 42 30th 80 March 2, 2014 Electionista 204 206 72 42 59 45 31 92 February 27, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 214 215 59 47 53 42 26th 95 February 27, 2014 The (European) federalist 214 214 70 45 57 44 24 83 February 23, 2014 Kapa Research 202 215 74 43 56 41 38 82 20th February 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 215 217 62 43 54 42 21st 97 19th February 2014 PollWatch2014 200 217 70 44 56 42 30th 92 15th February 2014 The (European) federalist 212 213 76 41 52 42 28 87 February 13, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 217 214 61 43 54 40 25th 98 February 7, 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 218 214 58 41 53 41 29 99 3rd February 2014 EP / TNS Opinion 217 221 57 42 53 39 25th 97 3rd December 2013 Notre Europe 209 213 62 38 47 42 30th 92 November 8, 2013 (unknown) 219 217 69 41 53 115 37 current seats 275 194 85 56 35 56 32 31

Election result

Party with the highest number of votes by parliamentary group before the election in each of the 28 member states of the EU

The turnout across Europe was 42.61% and did not change significantly compared to the turnout in the 2009 European elections (42.97%). Except in Belgium and Luxembourg, where voting was compulsory and therefore participation values ​​were around 90%, participation was particularly high in Malta (74.81%) and Italy (60%). It was particularly low in the Czech Republic (19.5%) and Slovakia (13%).

In the elections, the parties of the EPP Group (-59 seats) and the ALDE Group (-24) suffered the greatest losses. The GUE / NGL (+10), the EFD parliamentary group (+7) and the non-attached parties (+9) achieved gains. To this end, 73 MPs from parties that had not previously belonged to parliament and did not belong to any European party moved into parliament. Most of these MPs joined existing groups. There was also a change between the existing parliamentary groups. The EKR parliamentary group received the largest increase as a result, which received 25 additional members, including the seven members of the German AfD and seven members whose parties had previously belonged to the EFD parliamentary group. The EFD parliamentary group was dissolved and replaced by the EFDD parliamentary group, which is dominated by the British UKIP and the newly elected Italian M5S. The planned formation of a parliamentary group of the European Alliance for Freedom (EAF) did not materialize, although its member parties were able to win seats. However, the EAF was able to meet the minimum number of MPs from seven countries.

fraction	EPP	S&D	ALDE	EKR	Greens / EFA	GUE / NGL	EFD EFDD	Non-attached	New parties	total
Sit before the election	274	196	57	83	35	57	31	33	-	766
Seats after the election	215	185	45	59	45	49	38	42	73	751
Sit after joining / crossing over	221	191	67	70	50	52	48	52	-	751

See also : List of members of the 8th European Parliament

Distribution of seats by country

The following table contains the distribution of seats in the countries, with the distribution to the parliamentary groups at the time the parliament was constituted on July 1, 2014. Parties / politicians set in italics changed parliamentary groups or joined a parliamentary group (national parties are not listed who were assigned to a parliamentary group through their membership in a European party).

fraction country	EPP		S&D		EKR		ALDE		GUE-NGL		Greens / EFA		EFDD		f'los		total	Participation
European Union	221		191		70		67		52		50		48		52		751	42.54%
Belgium	CD&V CDH CSP	2 1 1	PS SP.A	3 1	N-VA G	4th	MR VLD	3 3			ECOLO Groen	1 1			VB	1	21st	90%
Bulgaria	GERB RB N	6 1	E.G	4th	BBZ and WMRO N	2	DPS	4th									17th	35.5%
Denmark	Theatrical Version	1	SD	3	DF E	4th	V RV	2 1	Folkebev.	1	SF	1					13	56.4%
Germany	CDU CSU	29 5	SPD	27	AfD N family N	7 1	FDP FW N	3 1	Left Animal Welfare N	7 1	Green pirates N ÖDP N	11 1 1			NPD N PARTY N	1 1	96	47.9%
Estonia	IRL	1	SDE	1			RE KE	2 1			Tarand	1					6th	36.44%
Finland	Kok.	3	SDP	2	PS E	2	Kesk. SFP	3 1	Vas.	1	Vihr.	1					13	40.9%
France	UMP	20th	PS + PRG	13			MoDem + UDI	7th	FG ( PCF + PG ) UOM	3 1	EELV	6th	Bergeron (Ex-FN) F	1	FN	23	74	43.5%
Greece	ND	5	Elia Potami N	2 2	ANEL N	1			SYRIZA	6th					CA KKE L	3 2	21st	58.2%
Ireland	FG	4th	Childers F	1	Crowley (ex- FF ) A.	1	Harkin	1	SF Flanagan N	3 1							11	51.6%
Italy	FI NCD + UDC SVP	13 3 1	PD	31					AE N	3			M5S N	17th	LN E	5	73	60%
Croatia	HDZ + HSS	5	SDP	3	HSP-AS	1	HNS / IDS	2			ORaH N	1					11	25.06%
Latvia	V	4th	Saskaņa SDP	1	N / A	1					LKS	1	LZS N	1			8th	30.04%
Lithuania	TS-LKD	2	LSDP	2	LLRA	1	LRLS DP	2 1			LVZS N	1	TT	2			11	44.91%
Luxembourg	CSV	3	LSAP	1			DP	1			Gréng	1					6th	90%
Malta	PN	3	PL	3													6th	74.81%
Netherlands	CDA	5	PvdA	3	CU / SGP E	2	D66 VVD	4 3	SP PvdD N	2 1	GL	2			PVV	4th	26th	37%
Austria	ÖVP	5	SPÖ	5			NEOS	1			Green	3			FPÖ	4th	18th	45.7%
Poland	PO PSL	19 4	SLD	5	PiS	19th									KNP	4th	51	22.7%
Portugal	PSD + CDS-PP	7th	PS	8th			MPT N	2	CDU BE	3 1							21st	34.5%
Romania	PNL A PD-L PMP UDMR	6 5 2 2	PSD + PC + UNPR	16			Deacon N	1									32	32.16%
Sweden	MSP KD	3 1	SAP FI N	5 1			FP CP	2 1	VP	1	MP	4th	SD N	2			20th	48.8%
Slovakia	KDH SDKÚ-DS Most – Híd SMK	2 2 1 1	SMER	4th	NOVA N OĽaNO N	1 1	SaS N	1									13	13%
Slovenia	SDS N.Si + SLS	3 2	SD	1			DeSUS N	1			Verjamem N	1					8th	20.96%
Spain	PP UDC	16 1	PSOE	14th			UPyD F CDC + PNV C's N	4 2 2	IU + Anova Podemos N Bildu	5 5 1	ERC ICV PE / Compromis	2 1 1					54	45.9%
Czech Republic	TOP09 KDU	4 3	ČSSD	4th	ODS	2	ANO N	4th	KSČM	3			Svobodni N	1			21st	19.5%
Hungary	FIDESZ + KDNP	12	DK N MSZP	2 2							LMP E'14 + PM N	1 1			Jobbik	3	21st	28.92%
United Kingdom			Lab.	20th	Cons. UUP	19 1	LibDem	1	SF	1	Greens SNP PC	3 2 1	UKIP	24	DUP	1	73	36%
Cyprus	DISY	2	DIKO EDEK	1 1					AKEL	2							6th	43.97%
fraction	EPP		S&D		EKR		ALDE		GUE-NGL		Greens / EFA		EFDD		f'los + new		total	Participation

^N Newly entered parliament

^F. Previously non-attached

^A. Previously ALDE group

^E. Previously EFD parliamentary group

^G Previously the Greens / EFA group

^L. Previously GUE / NGL parliamentary group

Radicalization

Right-wing parties critical of the EU grew significantly and received around 19 percent of the vote. The Front National was clearly the strongest force in France with 25 percent. In Great Britain, UKIP received a good 27 percent of the vote. In Denmark, the Danish People's Party received the most votes. In Austria, the FPÖ was able to win significantly more votes (details here ). In Germany, the euro-skeptical AfD received seven percent of the vote; she rejected a collaboration with what she saw as right-wing populist parties (such as the UKIP).

The conservative European Conservatives and Reformists (EKR) group, which is oriented towards a radical reform of the EU, grew in size through the accession of new parties in the European Parliament and through transfers from the EFD and ALDE groups, replacing the latter as the third largest group. The EU-skeptical EFD parliamentary group was able to increase from 32 to 48 MPs despite the transition to the EKR. On the other hand, the planned grouping of the parties of the right-wing radical European Alliance for Freedom failed for the time being , as it was unable to attract members from seven member states. In June 2015 these parties formed a parliamentary group called Europe of Nations and Freedom .

In Greece , the party SYRIZA - Enotiko Kinoniko Metopo , founded in May 2012 from an alliance of nine radical left parties, became the strongest force with 26.6 percent, ahead of the ruling conservatives (Nea Dimokratia: 22.7 percent). During the election campaign, SYRIZA declared the 2014 European elections a “referendum against austerity”. In Spain, the coalition of the United Left (IU) and the Catalan Greens ICV won four seats and now has five MPs. In addition, the anti-capitalist party Podemos , which emerged from the 15-M movement, moved into the European Parliament with five members. The GUE / NGL group increased from 35 to 52 seats, overtaking the Greens / EFA group as the fifth largest group.

See also

Portal: European Union  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the subject of the European Union

literature

• Michael Kaeding , Niko Switek (eds.): The 2014 European elections. Top candidates, protest parties, non-voters. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2015, ISBN 978-3-658-05737-4 .
• Oskar Niedermayer : Still a “national by-election”? The European Parliament election on May 25, 2014 . In: Journal for Parliamentary Questions 45 (2014) 3, pp. 523–546.
• Gerd Strohmeier : Does Weimar work at the EU level? Reflections on the 2014 European elections without a threshold clause . In: Zeitschrift für Politik , 61 (2014) 3, pp. 346–368.
• Christina Holtz-Bacha (Ed.): European election campaign 2014: International studies on the role of the media . Springer VS 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-11019-2 .

Web links

Commons : 2014 European elections  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Special issue: The candidates for election to the European Parliament from the Federal Republic of Germany
• Official website of the European Parliament for the 2014 European elections
• Further information on the European elections at Wahlrecht.de
• Federal Agency for Civic Education , Politics and Contemporary History (APuZ 12/2014): Information on the European elections ( PDF, 2.4 MB )
• 2014 European elections on the information portal for political education of the regional offices for political education
• Representative election statistics for the 2014 European elections, statement by the Federal Returning Officer , press conference on September 18, 2014

Individual evidence

1. ↑ election results
2. ↑ ^{a b} direct election act - decision and act introducing general direct elections for members of the European Parliament of September 20, 1976 ( Federal Law Gazette 1977 II p. 733 ), last amended by the decision of the Council of June 25, 2002 and September 23, 2002 ( PDF) ( BGBl. 2003 II p. 810 ; BGBl. 2004 II p. 520 ). In: bundeswahlleiter.de . The Federal Returning Officer, accessed and received on May 8, 2017 (PDF document; 82.80 KiB).
3. ↑ www.europarl.europa.eu
4. ↑ 2013/299 / EU, Euratom: Decision of the Council of 14 June 2013 setting the period for the eighth direct universal election of Members of the European Parliament
5. ↑ Announcement of September 19, 2013 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 3618 )
6. ↑ Reform of the electoral law: Parliament should become more European ( Memento from April 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ EurActiv , 13 October 2008: MEP: “Comprehensive” electoral reform by 2014 “urgently needed” ; See also draft of a report on a proposal to change the direct election file ( memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , July 5, 2010. 
8. ↑ EUobserver , April 19, 2011: Call for Europeans to elect 25 MEPs from EU-wide list (English); Andrew Duff , European Parliament , 28 April 2011: Report on a proposal to amend the direct election act .
9. ^ Report on the composition of the European Parliament with a view to the 2014 elections , European Parliament, 25 February 2013
10. ↑ Decision of the European Council of June 28, 2013 on the composition of the European Parliament (2013/312 / EU)
11. ^ Judgment of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court of November 9, 2011 in proceedings on the election review complaints, file number 2 BvC 4/10, 2 BvC 6/10 and 2 BvC 8/10 .
    Five percent threshold clause in European  electoral law unconstitutional - Press release No. 70/2011 of 9 November 2011 by the Federal Constitutional Court on this ruling. Both in: bundesverfassungsgericht.de . Federal Constitutional Court , accessed and received on May 10, 2017.
12. ↑ The five percent hurdle is unconstitutional ( memento of November 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) from the star of November 9, 2011
13. ↑ 5 percent hurdle in European elections unconstitutional. In: welt.de. November 9, 2011, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
14. ↑ Judgment in Karlsruhe - five percent clause in European elections unconstitutional. In: sueddeutsche.de. November 9, 2011, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
15. ^ Electoral reform: Bundestag resolves three percent hurdle for European elections. In: zeit.de. June 14, 2013, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
16. ↑ Heise online : Pirates are suing the Federal Constitutional Court against the 3 percent hurdle for the European elections , October 8, 2013
17. ↑ http://www.mehr-demokratie.de/ : Lawsuit against three percent hurdle in EU elections , October 10, 2013
18. ↑ www.bverfg.de
19. ↑ www.bverfg.de
20. ↑ Judgment of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court of February 26, 2014, file number 2 BvE 2/13, 2 BvE 5/13, 2 BvE 6/13, 2 BvE 7/13, 2 BvE 8/13, 2 BvE 9/13, 2 BvE 10/13, 2 BvE 12/13, 2 BvR 2220/13, 2 BvR 2221/13 and 2 BvR 2238/13 .
    The three percent threshold clause in European  electoral law is unconstitutional under the current legal and factual circumstances - press release no. 14/2014 of the Federal Constitutional Court of February 26, 2014 on this judgment. Both in: bundesverfassungsgericht.de . Federal Constitutional Court , called up and received on May 10, 2017.
    Constitutional judges overturn three percent threshold for European elections. In: Spiegel Online. February 26, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
21. ↑ European Election Regulations (EuWO) , accessed and received on May 21, 2017.
22. ↑ Law on the Legal Relationships of Members of the European Parliament from the Federal Republic of Germany (European Parliament Act - EuAbgG) , accessed and received on May 21, 2017.
23. ↑ www.camera.it
24. ↑ www.elections2014.eu
25. ↑ Three percent hurdle in European elections is unconstitutional. In: welt.de. February 26, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
26. ↑ www.wort.lu
27. ↑ Christoph B. Schiltz, Brussels: Juncker is to become the top candidate of the conservatives. In: welt.de. February 2, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
28. ↑ www.wienerzeitung.at
29. ↑ European elections: Juncker elected as the EPP's top candidate. In: sueddeutsche.de. March 7, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
30. ↑ SPD nominates Martin Schulz as the top candidate for the European elections. In: zeit.de. January 26, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
31. ↑ Verhofstadt and Rehn top candidates of the Liberals. In: faz.net. January 20, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
32. ↑ kurier.at
33. ↑ www.europeanvoice.com ( Memento from February 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
34. ↑ europeangreens.eu: EGP announce innovative common campaign for European Elections , July 11, 2013
35. ^ Matthias Krupa : Green area code: The idea of ​​European top candidates does not ignite. In: zeit.de. January 29, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
36. ↑ www.efa.org
37. ↑ Niklaus Nuspliger: New right-wing populist parliamentary group in the EU Parliament: Le Pen's late satisfaction. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. June 16, 2015, accessed January 28, 2016 . 
38. ↑ euractiv Far-right parties join Tories in rejecting common EU candidate
39. ↑ www.pde-edp.eu ( Memento from April 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
40. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
41. ↑ www.election.de
42. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} www.eutwentyfourteen.com ( Memento from March 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
43. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} f / http: //pollwatch2014.eu/ pollwatch2014.eu ( Memento from February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
44. ↑ albertonardelli.tumblr.com
45. ↑ ^{a b c} www.elections2014.eu
46. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} foederalist.blogspot.de
47. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
48. ↑ > www.election.de
49. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
50. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
51. ↑ > www.election.de
52. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} www.elections2014.eu
53. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
54. ↑ > www.election.de
55. ↑ us6.campaign-archive1.com
56. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
57. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
58. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
59. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
60. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
61. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
62. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
63. ↑ scenaripolitici.com
64. ↑ twitter.com
65. ↑ www.3comma14.gr
66. ↑ blogs.lse.ac.uk
67. ↑ mobil.derstandard.at
68. ↑ www.euractiv.de
69. ↑ "right-wing EU skeptics"
70. ↑ www.results-wahlen2014.eu
71. ↑ europedecides.eu
72. ↑ www.greens-efa.eu
73. ↑ A shift to the right goes through Europe ( Memento from May 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
74. ↑ Stefanie Bolzen: "I want Europe to leave the EU". In: welt.de. May 26, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
75. ↑ Results by country: Greece
76. ↑ Deutschlandfunk May 26, 2014: Greece after the European elections: Syriza wants new elections ( Memento from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
77. ↑ Ralf Streck: outraged party big surprise. May 26, 2014, accessed December 8, 2014 . 
78. ↑ Table of contents, foreword etc. online