Contents
Introduction
Europeans will be called on to vote for their representatives in the European Parliament, from Thursday to Sunday, June 6 9, 2024. In a year marked by elections in many key countries (United States, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Pakistan to name only a few), the European elections might be an outlier, not being national elections, but they are certainly not the least important. Almost 400 million European citizens are eligible to vote. This makes the elections second only to India’s federal elections in terms of representative democracy worldwide. Insofar as they influence EU policies, their impact is global. While the European Union might not be the economic powerhouse it once was, it still belongs, with the United States and China, to a very select group of states defining world politics at large.
European elections are also a unique affair. They span many different countries with wildly different history, traditions and languages. They mobilize dozens, if not hundreds, of political parties at national level, all offering their take on the issues of the day. They belong to a supranational system linking nation-states in a network of institutions and common obligations, in a setup that still is largely one of its kind.