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Dossier: European Union elections

June 1, 2009

Europeans went to the polls between June 4th and 7th, with an estimated 375 milion voters eligible to vote in the European Union's parliamentary elections.

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Image: Photo Europäisches Parlament

Europeans went to the polls between June 4th and 7th, with an estimated 375 milion voters eligible to cast their votes in the European Union's parliamentary elections. Learn more about the elections and some of the candidates with this collection of articles.

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Reports & Analysis

pod0206 EU Elex Preview Germany

englisch: pod0206 EU Elex Preview Germany - Produziert: 02.06.2009 - 18:38:16 von Graupner
June 2, 200904:27 min
Pedestrian in Brussels studies billboard

Voting rights

Several million long-term residents of Germany will not get a chance to cast an election ballot.
June 6, 2009

EU elections: Worryingly low turnout

EU elections take place next weekend, and from Lisbon to Riga, European streets are lined with billboards. YouTube advertisements target the youth vote. But no amount of PR and sloganeering looks likely to prevent a worryingly low turnout. Recent polls predict that only a third of eligible voters may cast their ballots. Turnout for the European Parliament vote has been falling steadily since the late 1970s, when it used to exceed 60 per cent.
June 1, 2009undefined min

EU elections: An ideal forum for small exotic parties

The vote will serve as a crucial test ahead of general elections taking place later this year in a number of countries, including Germany. This country's coalition partners, the SPD and the CDU, will be watching the result closely as a barometer of their prospects in September. But a number of small parties are also fielding candidates for the EU Parliament, and they include some most voters have scarcely heard of. They're parties that could never make it into the Bundestag because of its five percent threshold, and they see the EU election as an ideal forum for making their concerns heard and their names known.
June 1, 2009undefined min

European Parliament groups

There are close to 800 MEPs from 27 different countries. But what are their political affiliations?
June 2, 2009
View of a plenary session of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg

Complex rules

As the EU gears up for lengthy parliamentary elections, voter turnout is expected to be low.
May 31, 2009
A poster advertising the first European Parliament election in 1979

30 years of EU elections

A look at whyvoter turnout for EU elections has been steadily shrinking over time.
June 1, 2009
The interior of the European Parliament in Strasbourg

EU parliament challenges

It's called the European Parliament, but is quite different from any other parliament in the world.
June 1, 2009
The European Parliament in Strasbourg

EU Parliament's powers

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union.
PoliticsJuly 5, 2017
Flags of the EU nations fly in front of the European Parliament in Brussels

On the move

One parliament, three locations. This three-city setup creates even more bureaucracy.
June 1, 2009
Martin Graf of the Austrian Freedom Party laughs during the opening session of the parliament following general elections in Vienna, Austria, 28 October 2008

Austrian political row

The Freedom Party's antagonistic EU election campaign slogans have stirred up trouble in Austria.
June 1, 2009
The Latvian flag

Euro-skeptic EMP

Latvia's former head Communist is poised to enter EU Parliament as a Euroskeptic.
June 1, 2009
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