What you're voting for at the European elections

In two weeks time, the UK goes to the polls to vote at the European elections. Those votes will shape the direction of the European Union for the next five years. It is essential therefore to be sure what it is that our votes mean, and what they will affect when we cast them.

The European Union (EU) as we know it today evolved out of a number of trade and diplomatic agreements, originating in an idealistic purpose. In the aftermath of the Second World War, with Europe's Nationalistic wars having once again torn the whole world apart, fostering a sense of European community and co-dependence was seen as something that might just take away the causes of strife. The European elections are the time when we decide on what principles that community is run.

In its modern form, the European Union (EU) has grown to include 28 member states, 18 of whom now share a common currency; Justice Courts whose members are appointed by the governments of the member states; the European Council, which gathers the heads of the governments of member states to define the strategy, direction and priorities of the EU; the Council of the European Union, which as the upper house in a bicameral legislative branch, comprising ministers of the member state governments themselves; and, last but not least, the European Parliament.

The European Parliament is the elected assembly of the European Union, working with the Council of the European Union to debate, oversee, vote on and ratify European Union laws and agreements. As such it has a voice in most decisions made at the European level, on matters affecting peoples of Europe across borders. This means weighing in on law-making in a number of areas, from agriculture & fisheries, to regional development aimed at bringing all of Europe up to the same standard on matters like basic rights, minimum wages and economic infrastructure.

The elections to the Parliament are conducted on the basis of proportional representation, where the seats are awarded in a manner that closely follows the proportions of the popular vote. There are a total of 766 seats in the Parliament.

Of these, there are 73 seats from the UK (the fourth largest total number after Germany, France and Italy), in 12 constituencies: East Midlands, East of England, London, North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Those seats are elected on a region-by-region basis, by way of a proportional vote in each region.

The members elected for each region, to the European Parliament, will usually sit there as a member of their party and of the European alliance to which their party is affiliated. The major groups in Europe are: the European People's Party (primarily Christian Democrats and Conservatives), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (Social Democrats and Labour), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group (Liberals, Liberal Democrats, and Democrats). Other groups include The Greens-European Free Alliance, and Europe of Freedom and Democracy (home to Nationalists and Eurosceptics).

The Parliament and its parties also have an additional role. Each grouping can nominate a candidate for the President of the European Commission, the head of the executive branch of the European Union and the equivalent to the President of the United States. The nominee whose grouping gains the largest share of the vote in the European Parliament elections then must pass nomination by the European Council and a vote in the Parliament to be appointed President.

Once appointed, the President runs the commission, the European equivalent of the British Cabinet, made up of Commissioners for each of the portfolio areas from agriculture to the economy. The President and the Commission is responsible for proposing legislation, acting on the final decisions and taking care of the EU's day to day running - all under the oversight of the European Council, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

In short, your vote at the European elections will have two main effects. To decide the proportional representation of the European Parliament, which has oversight over, and votes on, regulations and directives made at the EU level, that affect the domestic politics of member states; and to nominate a President to the run the European Commission who, under oversight of the member state governments, proposes and drafts the regulations and directives and implements them once they have been decided.

The point of the European elections is to decide the ideological principles on which the European Union will be run. The principles behind drafting policies, and the principles that will scrutinise them and vote on them. The time to express concerns about membership is at the national elections, for the national bodies who will make those decisions.

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References:
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+ Neill Nugent's 'The Government and Politics of the European Union'; Palgrave Macmillan; 2003. [Buy Now]

+ Stephen George & Ian Bache's 'Politics in the European Union'; Oxford; 2001. [Buy Now]

For more on the European Union, or the European Parliament, follow the links.