The importance of participation and the strategic vote
1979-2009: a decline in participation
Since 1979, election after election there has been a continuous decline in participation in the European election.
Key
– 1979: The 9 (Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, UK)
– 1984: The 10 (The 9 + Greece)
– 1998 et 1994: The 12 (The 10 + Spain, Portugal)
– 1999: The 15 (The 12 + Austria, Finland, Sweden)
– 2004: The 25 (The 15 + Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia et Czech Republic).
– 2009 : EU27 – The 25 Member States + Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.
– 2014: UE28 (The 27 Member States + Croatia)
Source : C. Deloy, D. Reynié, Les élections européennes de juin 2004, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 2005, p.40
1979 – 2009 : The growth of the electoral body
After the enlargements of the European Union, there has been an increase in the number of voters (see the 2 graphs).
Nearly 185 million European voters were called to ballot in 1979 in comparison with nearly 375 million in 2009.
Source : C. Deloy, D. Reynié, Les élections européennes de juin 2004, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 2005