The 2014 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first in which the European political parties fielded candidates for President of the Commission.
The candidates, sometimes referred to by the German term Spitzenkandidaten (English: top candidates), were Jean-Claude Juncker for the European People's Party, Martin Schulz for the Party of European Socialists, Guy Verhofstadt for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party, Ska Keller and José Bové jointly for the European Green Party and Alexis Tsipras for the Party of the European Left. The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists and the European Alliance for Freedom declined to nominate candidates.
While the European People's Party lost ground to the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, it remained the largest faction in the new Parliament, resulting in the EPP's nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission President at the European Council. In turn, the European Council accepted the nomination by a simple majority (only David Cameron and Viktor Orban voted against Juncker).
Background The Council of the European Union decided to hold the 2014 elections in late May instead of early June as had been the case with previous EP elections.Council Decision 2013/299/EU, Euratom of 14 June 2013 fixing the period for the eighth election of representatives to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, published on 21 June 2013 by the Official Journal of the European Union, L 169/69 The elections were brought forward to provide more time for the election of a president of the European Commission, and because they would otherwise have coincided with the Pentecost weekend which falls during school holidays in many member states.
The ongoing Eurozone crisis, an offshoot of the Great Recession, started several months after the last Parliament election in June 2009. Although it affected most EU member states, the hardest-hit economies were those of southern Europe: Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, along with Ireland. Among other reasons, harsh austerity measures significantly affected the public approval of EU leadership. The percentage of Greeks approving the EU leadership decreased from 32% in 2010 to 19% in 2013, while in Spain, the approval dwindled more than a half from 59% in 2008 to 27% in 2013. Overall, only four of the 27 members countries approved the EU leadership. Peter S. Goodman suggests that "distrust about the treaties and conventions that hold together modern Europe appear at an all-time high." "Europe's establishment parties are widely expected to suffer their worst performance" since 1979, with the three mainstream parties (EPP, PES, ALDE) expected to collectively gain 63% of the vote, a 10% loss since 2009.
The Economist estimated in January 2014 that "anti-EU populists of the left and right could take between 16% and 25% of the parliament's seats, up from 12% today." Euromoney predicted "anti-EU populists and nationalists" winning around 150 seats in the parliament, almost 20% of the total. A Policy Network article from February 2014 suggested that despite the media focus on anti-EU parties, they "will undoubtedly remain modest compared to" other mainstream parties, but "their growth and their intentions to cooperate, signify important changes for the EU and European politics." In several countries, far-right and right-wing populist parties were expected to be in contention to poll the most votes in this election, including parties in Austria (Freedom Party), Denmark (People's Party), France (National Front), the Netherlands (Party for Freedom), and the UK (UKIP). In Greece, the left-wing Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) consistently led the polling in the leadup to the election. In Italy the populist and anti-establishment Five Star Movement, according to the polls, was expected to be the second most popular party after the Democratic Party, with about 25% of votes.
In January 2014, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said, "We are seeing, in fact, a rise of extremism from the extreme right and from the extreme left" and suggested that the election might become "a festival of unfounded reproaches against Europe."
Presidential candidates The Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, provides that the European Parliament shall endorse or veto the appointment of the president of the European Commission on the basis of a proposal made by the European Council, taking into account the European elections (article 17, paragraph 7 of the Treaty on European Union). This provision applied for the first time for the 2014 elections.
Nevertheless, senior figures such as European Council president Herman Van Rompuy,Euractiv.com Van Rompuy scorns direct election of Commission president 14 October 2013 German Chancellor Angela Merkel,EUobserver Merkel: EU vote not decisive on commission President 25.10.13 and former Commission president Jacques Delors questioned the aspiration of European political parties to link the presidency of the European Commission with the result of the European elections and insisted that the future Commission president has to suit Member States' expectations first.
Based on these new provisions, the following European political parties designated candidates for Commission president ahead of the 2014 election: the Party of European Socialists (PES),Resolution n°2 "A New Way Forward, A Stronger PES" Adopted by the 8th PES Congress in Prague, 7–8 December 2009Resolution n°2 "A democratic and transparent process for designating the PES – candidate for the European Commission Presidency" adopted by the PES Council in Warsaw on 2 December 2010Resolution "Selecting our common candidate in 2014" adopted by the PES Council on 24 November 2011 the European People's Party (EPP),"Political parties must nominate European Commission president" , Public Service Europe, 1 October 2012 the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE party),European liberal leader spells out concerns for 2014 elections, Euractiv.com, 8 May 2013 the European Green Party (EGP),"European Greens announce innovative and ambitious plans for an open online primary" , Press release, European Green Party, 12 May 2013 the Party of European Left (EL)European elections: concerning the submission of an EL candidacy for the presidency of the European Commission , EL Website, 19 October 2013 and the European Democratic Party.EDP Council: Refounding Europe , EDP website, 3 December 2013
Overview +European political partyEP GroupLead candidate(s)EPPEuropean People's PartyEPP GroupJean-Claude JunckerPESParty of European SocialistsS&DMartin SchulzALDEAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe PartyALDE GroupGuy VerhofstadtEDPEuropean Democratic PartyEGPEuropean Green PartyGreens/EFAJosé Bové, Ska KellerEFAEuropean Free AllianceNoneAECRAlliance of European Conservatives and ReformistsECRNonePELParty of the European LeftGUE/NGLAlexis TsiprasMELDMovement for a Europe of Liberties and DemocracyEFDNoneEAFEuropean Alliance for FreedomNINoneECPMEuropean Christian Political MovementECR, EFDNone
European People's Party On 6 and 7 March 2014, the congress of the European People's Party in Dublin elected Jean-Claude Juncker as its presidential candidate, who run against Michel Barnier, and adopted an election manifesto. Juncker set out the priorities he would have as president: Create growth and jobs Reform and reorganise the European energy policy into a new energy union Negotiate a reasonable and balanced trade agreement with the United States Continue with the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union, with the European social dimension in mind Re-balance the relationship between elected politicians and the European Central Bank in the daily management of the Eurozone Re-balance the way in which we grant conditional stability support to Eurozone countries in financial difficulties Strengthen the external projection of our monetary union Give an answer to the British question Juncker also set out five priorities on the subject of immigration: Implement the Common European Asylum System Step up the practical assistance provided by the European Asylum Support Office Step up cooperation with third countries, particularly North African countries More political determination when it comes to legal migration Secure Europe's borders
Finally he set out three foreign policy objectives: Making the High Representative act like a true European Minister of Foreign Affairs Permanent structured cooperation in defence matters A pause for enlargement
Party of European Socialists The Common Candidate process of the Party of European Socialists was carried out according to the following timetable:PES website PES opens nominations for 'Common Candidate' selection for next year's European elections 1 October 2013 1–31 October 2013: nominations. 6 November 2013: PES Presidency meeting to check the candidacies and publish the official list of candidates. 1 December 2013 – 31 January 2014: internal selection process within each member Party or organisation. February 2014: PES Election Congress to ratify the votes on the candidate, adopt the Manifesto, and launch the PES European election campaign.
Following the defeat of the Party of European Socialists during the European elections of June 2009, the PES made the decision that PES would designate its candidate for Commission president in December 2009, which rapidly triggered debates about how to select this candidate.See for example the contribution by Dr. Ania Skrzypek, FEPS Policy Advisor Models of (s)electing a pan-European Leading candidate 24 June 2010 The PES Congress gathering in Brussels in November 2011 made the decision that it would select the PES candidate through internal primaries in each of its member parties and organisations.PES Resolution Selecting our common candidate in 2014, adopted by the PES Council on 24 November 2011 Member parties and organisations are free to determine their own voting process, including by opening it to non-members. Possible candidates: José Luis Zapatero, Margot Wallström, Helle Thorning Schmidt, Frans Timmermans, Borut Pahor, Sergei Stanishev, Wouter Bos, José Sócrates, Werner Faymann,PES candidates for Commission President, Jon Worth's blog Pascal Lamy. Declared candidate: Martin SchulzS&D Group website S&D Group endorses Martin Schulz's application as PES candidate for Commission president, 10 October 2013"Martin Schulz a déjà rempli la condition requise en obtenant le soutien de plus de six partis ou organisations membres du PSE, dont celui du PS français", in Les Echos, UE : Schulz plus que jamais favori à gauche pour la Commission, 10 October 2013 Elected candidate: Martin Schulz
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party The timetable of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) for designating its candidate for President of the European Commission is:ALDE Party ALDE Party candidate for Commission President to be announced 1 February , 14 October 2013 28–30 November: Nominations opens & Election Manifesto adopted at London Congress 19 December: Pre-Summit liberal leaders meeting to discuss nominations received 20 December: Nominations formally close 1 February: ALDE Party Candidate to be announced at special Electoral Congress, Brussels