European elections: Preview
The European parliament building in Strasbourg
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Friday, 08, May 2009 05:05
Europe is alight with elections fever. At least, that's what the politicians would like to think.
Voting for the seventh parliament will begin on June 4th and continue for several days afterwards.
That might seem unusual, but with 375 million people eligible to vote this is an unusual election.
It's the first time electors from the European Union's newest member states, Bulgaria and Romania, will be taking part.
And it will result in a representative body with 736 members, a cut from the 783 seen in the last parliament. Campaigns are now in earnest across the continent, despite the constant struggle to sustain the public's interest.
Since the first election in 1979, voter turnout has slipped consistently below the 50 per cent mark.
Getting people interested has been a constant headache as a result. It's all the more surprising given the incremental increases in importance of the parliament itself.
That's why, come June 4th, those who do bother to vote will make a big difference to the way European policies affect Britain.
Why the elections matter
The European parliament amends much of the legislation which passes through its hands. With the acceptance of member states, many of their proposals become reality back in Britain.
Here's just a selection of the achievements notched up by the 2004/09 parliament.
Environment
New waste legislation has imposed targets for re-use and recycling of waste - with a 2020 deadline.
The emissions trading scheme has been revised downwards, in a bid to cut emissions of sectors included in the scheme by 21 per cent from 2005 levels.
Business and finance
Postal service monopolies are to be broken up by 2011.
The capital requirements directive sought to persuade banks and other financial institutions to hold on to some of their money, at least, to prevent further crises.
New rules have been adopted to improve quality audits within the EU. Auditors and firms have to demonstrate their independence from the management of the audited company.
Immigration and foreign labour
A directive established common rules and conditions for dealing with illegal immigrants.
MEPs backed the enlargement of the Schengen area, which lifts border controls between participating countries.
Security and terrorism
Common standards for security screening at airports were agreed.
Rules on gun ownership were toughened in a bid to reduce illegal traffic.
The parliament lengthened the list of offences in anti-terror legislation. It now includes recruitment, terrorism training and incitement to terrorism.
Employment, transport and protecting consumers are other areas where the European parliament has made a real difference.
Does it matter?
The truth is that all of the above are important. But despite this, the spring's European's elections will not make the impact they should.
There's a number of reasons why this is the case. The biggest is the way the parliament works in practice.
Unlike in the Commons, where there is a very clearly defined opposition and government, the parliament merely has a spectrum of parties on offer. They're all there: from the Confederal Group of the European United Left, through the liberals and Green party in the centre, to the Ukip-dominated Independence/Democracy group on the right.
No one country can make a substantial difference to their overall set-up. Take Britain: in 2004 support for the Socialist group, which with 216 of 783 MEPs was second only to the centre-right Conservative-backed equivalent, slumped. They received a pitifully low 19 seats. It made something of a difference, of course. But not a huge one.
The reason for this lies at the heart of the problem: most voters tend to react to political developments at the national level rather than vote according to their European equivalents.
Claude Moraes, a London MEP, told politics.co.uk that in Britain the "downward political cycle" continues to haunt his party, Labour.
"That's the backdrop and no one can argue that away. We're fighting against that backdrop and now we're in the middle of a third term," he said.
Mark Hendrick, a former MEP and now MP, agreed. "If a voter is disgusted with the government, whichever party is in power will feel it at the ballot box," he explained.
Mr Hendrick is passionately pro-European and said the elections were "not just about voicing dissatisfaction - it's about making an active choice".
Every vote matters as much as the next one. And, ironically, low turnout overall means those who do bother to turn up to their local polling station ends up having a greater influence.
The MEPs sent to Strasbourg will spend the next five years dealing with issues touching every aspect of your life. There's just a month to go to decide which kind of MEP you'd like to have doing so on your behalf.
Alex Stevenson