Foreign Policy Blogs

June's European Parliament elections – the only transnational election in the world

On the 6th March 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the European Parliament. While welcoming her, the Institution’s President Hans-Gert Pöttering  laid out the unique characteristics of the Parliament:

We are the only democratically elected international institution. We bring together the elected representatives of nearly 500 million Europeans from over 150 national political parties in 27 countries, sitting in seven political groups. In June, we will take our record to the people, in the only transnational elections of their kind anywhere in the world: 375 million citizens will have the right to vote.

The Parliament has just launched a publicity campaign to increase voter turnout for June’s election, which has been in decline since the first direct elections in 1979. You can see the website here & billboards will be erected (below) which will emphasise choice rather than civic duty as the primary reason to vote. According to a Parliament spokesperson “We will not call on citizens to exercise their civic duties. Instead, we want to highlight that there are major policy choices confronting the EU which will impact on people’s lives.”

See what you think, below:

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June's European Parliament elections - the only transnational election in the world

June's European Parliament elections - the only transnational election in the world

 

Author

David Garrahy

David Garrahy works in Brussels monitoring European Union activites. He is originally from Ireland and studied a Degree in Law & European Studies at the University of Limerick before earning a Masters in Globalisation at Dublin City Universty. Previously he has worked in the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and as a Legislative Aide for an Irish Senator. His involvement in the EU has included working for the Irish Forum on Europe and campaigning in Referenda in favour of the Nice & Lisbon Treaties.

Area of Focus
Europe; Globalisation; European Comission.

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