European Parliament election, 2004

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Elections to the European Parliament were held from June 10, 2004 to June 13, 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. Votes were counted as the polls closed, but results were not announced until 13 June and 14 so results from one country would not influence voters in another where polls were still open; however, the Netherlands, voting on Thursday 10, announced nearly-complete provisional results as soon as they were counted, on the evening of its election day, a move heavily criticized by the European Commission.

Approximately 343,657,800 people were eligible to vote, the second-largest democratic electorate in the world after India. It was the biggest transnational direct election in history, and the 10 new member states elected MEPs for the first time. The new Parliament consists of 732 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Voting was in most cases by proportional voting for party lists, using the D'Hondt method for calculating the number of seats to be allocated to each party's candidate list. The Republic of Ireland and Malta used the Single Transferable Vote (STV) instead. In Italy open lists are used. In the United Kingdom, closed lists are used in England, Wales and Scotland but STV is used in Northern Ireland.

Results overall show a general defeat of governing parties and an increase in representatives from eurosceptic parties. However, the balance of power in the Parliament remains similar despite the 10 new member states.

1 Election dates
2 Results
3 New parties in the 2004 election
4 Political group reshuffle after the 2004 election
5 Other elections
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Election dates

Voting Days
Thursday 10 June	Netherlands, United Kingdom
Friday 11 June	Czech Republic, Ireland
Saturday 12 June	Czech Republic, Italy, Latvia, Malta
Sunday 13 June	Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

[edit] Results

[edit] At a glance

original groupings	EPP–ED	PES	ELDR	Greens/ EFA	EUL/ NGL	UEN	EDD	others⁶	total
before 2004 enlargement	232	175	52	45	49	23	17	32	625
after 2004 enlargement; outgoing	295 (37.4%)	232 (29.4%)	67 (8.5%)	47 (6.0%)	55 (7.0%)	30 (3.8%)	18 (2.3%)	44 (5.6%)	788 (100%)
immediately after election	277 (37.8%)	198 (27.0%)	68 (9.4%)	38 (5.2%)	39 (5.3%)	27 (3.7%)	15 (2.0%)	70 (9.6%)	732 (100%)
difference	-18 (+0.4%)	-34 (-2.4%)	+1 (+0.9%)	-9 (-0.8%)	-16 (-1.7%)	-3 (-0.1%)	-3 (-0.3%)	+26 (+4.0%)	-56
after grouping shuffle (20 July, first day reconvening)	268	199	88	42	41	27	33	33	731
new groupings	EPP–ED	PES	ALDE	Greens/ EFA	EUL/ NGL	UEN	ID	N.I.	total

(source: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5])

[edit] Vote summary by EU Party (2004 actual result)

Registered voters: 353,460,958 (est.)
Votes cast: 154,317,718 (43.66%) (est.)
Total seats: 732

Notes on accuracy:

These estimated voting figures figures, using the believed configurations of EU groupings at the time of the 2004 elections, have been compiled by totalling national party figures, using official results where they are available.
Where national lists are alliances between more than one political party, attempts have been made to divide that list proportionally, using preferential voting totals where available and, in other circumstances, dividing vote totals equally between candidates (if party membership available) or the MEPs elected (if not).

European Parliament Election 2004: Estimated Summary Results
Parliamentary Grouping		Votes	% Votes	Seats	+/-
	Party / Subgroup	Votes	% Votes	Seats	+/-
Group of the European People's Party and the European Democrats (EPP-ED) Composed of:		52,534,612	34.0%	277	-
	European People's Party	44,670,810	28.9%	227	-
	European Democrats	5,189,196	3.4%	37	-
	Associated Independents	2,674,606	1.7%	13	-
Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Composed of:		37,271,453	24.1%	198	-
	Party of European Socialists	36,716,593	23.8%	193	-
	Associated Independents	554,860	0.4%	5	-
Group of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) Composed of:		13,732,594	8.9%	66	-
	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party	10,835,213	7.0%	59	-
	Associated Independents	2,897,381	1.9%	7	-
Group of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left (EUL/NGL) Composed of:		9,999,413	6.5%	41	-
	Party of the European Left	5,512,904	3.6%	17	-
	Nordic Green Left Alliance¹	623,401	0.4%	4	-
	European Anticapitalist Left²	529,782	0.3%	0	-
	Associated Independents	3,333,327	2.2%	20	-
Group of the Greens and the European Free Alliance (G/EFA) Composed of:		9,742,287	6.3%	40	-
	European Green Party	8,290,609	5.4%	33	-
	European Free Alliance	946,834	0.6%	4	-
	Associated Independents	504,844	0.3%	3	-
Union for Europe of the Nations Group (UEN)		6,141,614	4.0%	27	-
Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) Composed of:		3,611,803	2.3%	15	-
	European Christian Political Movement³	341,895	0.2%	1	-
	Associated Independents	3,269,908	2.1%	14	-
Non-Inscrits/Non-Affiliated (NI) Composed of:		13,745,847	8.9%	68	-
Parties that failed to win representation Composed of:		7,094,142	4.6%	0	-
	European National Front	97,156	0.1%	0	-
	Europe – Democracy – Esperanto	25,067	<0.05%	0	-
	Other Independents	6,971,919	4.5%	0	-
Total		154,317,718		732

Notes
1. The figures for the Nordic Green Left Alliance and the European Anticapitalist Left include only those members that are not full members of the Party of the European Left.
2. See above.
3. The figures for the European Christian Political Movement exclude a number of members who hold concurrent membership of the European Peoples Party.

[edit] Vote summary by EU Party (2007 notional result)

These figures estimate 'notional' voting figures based on changes in the configuration of EU political groupings since the 2004 elections and the accession of Bulgaria and Romania. Their purpose is to better estimate the position which the groups will have to defend for the next European Parliament election.

These figures incorporate the results of the 2004 Romanian Chamber of Deputies election and the 2005 Bulgarian National Assembly election, on which the distribution of Bulgarian and Romanian MEPs is temporarily based. These figures will consequentially change after the 2007 European Parliament elections in those countries.

As of 8 January 2007 (including ITS group):

Registered voters: 378,106,633 (est.)
Votes cast: 168,317,718 (44.49%) (est.)
Total seats: 785 (+53)

European Parliament Election 2004: Estimated Notional Results, January 2007
Parliamentary Grouping		Votes	% Votes	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Party / Subgroup	Votes	% Votes	+/-	Seats	+/-
Group of the European People's Party and the European Democrats (EPP-ED) Composed of:		52,567,771	34.1%	-2.9%	277	0
	European People's Party	46,183,932	27.5%	-1.7%	232	+5
	European Democrats (part¹)	5,628,052	3.3%	-0.1%	39	+2
	Associated Independents	755,786	1.6%	-1.2%	6	-7
Group of the Party of European Socialists (PES) Composed of:		43,327,099	25.8%	+0.7%	218	+20
	Party of European Socialists	41,598,383	24.7%	+0.1%	193	+18
	Associated Independents	1,728,716	1.0%	+0.7%	7	+2
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Composed of:		21,375,247	12.7%	+4.3%	106	+40
	European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party	14,106,116	8.4%	+1.7%	76	+17
	European Democratic Party	6,037,453	3.6%		25
	Associated Independents	1,231,678	0.7%	-1.0%	5	-2
Group of the Greens and the European Free Alliance (G/EFA) Composed of:		10,182,153	6.1%	-0.2%	42	2
	European Green Party	8,457,969	5.0%	-0.4%	33	0
	European Free Alliance	1,277,042	0.8%	+0.2%	6	+2
	Platform for Transparency (Paul van Buitenen)	174,578	0.1%		1
	Associated Independents	272,564	0.2%	-0.1%	2	-1
Group of the European United Left and Nordic Green Left (EUL/NGL) Composed of:		9,873,587	5.9%	-0.6%	41	0
	Party of the European Left	6,842,489	4.1%	+0.5%	28	+10
	Nordic Green Left Alliance ²	623,401	0.4%	-0.0%	4	0
	European Anticapitalist Left ³	345,962	0.2%	-0.0%	0	0
	Associated Independents	2,061,735	1.2%	-1.0%	9	-10
Union for Europe of the Nations Group (UEN) Composed of:		8,934,925	5.3%	+1.4%	44	+17
	Alliance for Europe of the Nations	5,457,115	3.2%		26
	EUDemocrats (part⁴)	547,318	0.3%		5
	Associated Independents	2,980,491	1.8%	-2.2%	13	-14
Identity, Tradition and Sovereignty Group (ITS) Composed of:		6,135,671	3.6%		20
	Euronat⁸	5,465,545	3.2%		17
	Platform for Transparency (Ashley Mote)	215,556	0.1%		1
	Associated Independents	454,570	0.3%		2
Group for Independence and Democracy (IND/DEM) Composed of:		5,265,991	3.1%	+0.8%	23	+8
	Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe(part⁵)	1,687,718	1.0%		7
	European Christian Political Movement⁶	341,895	0.2%	-0.0%	1	0
	EUDemocrats (part⁷)	294,887	0.2%		2
	Associated Independents	2,941,491	1.7%	-0.4%	13	-1
Non-Inscrits/Non-Affiliated (NI) Composed of:		10,218,366	6.1%	-7.4%	14	-54
	Platform for Transparency (Hans-Peter Martin)	262,272	0.2%		1
	European Democrats (Roger Helmer)	185,681	0.1%		1
	Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe (Jim Allister)	175,761	0.1%		1
	Other Independents	1,658,374	1.0%	-7.9%	11	-57
Parties that failed to win representation Composed of:		8,107,746	4.8%	+0.3%	0	-
	European National Front	266,636	0.2%	+0.2%	0	0
	Europe – Democracy – Esperanto	25,067	0.1%	-0.0%	0	0
	Other Independents	7,815,773	4.6%	0.1%	0	0
Total		168,222,513			785	53

Notes
1. Roger Helmer was expelled from the EPP-ED group in 2005, but retains the whip of the British Conservative Party.
2. The figures for the Nordic Green Left Alliance and the European Anticapitalist Left include only those members that are not full members of the Party of the European Left.
3. See above.
4. The EUDemocrats, while having a preference for the IND/DEM group, is currently split between UEN and IND/DEM.
5. In addition to the majority of AIDE MEPs which sit in the IND/DEM group, AIDE also includes Non-Inscrit MEP, Jim Allister, as an individual member.
6. The figures for the European Christian Political Movement exclude a number of members who hold concurrent membership of the European Peoples Party.
7. See 4 above.
8. These figures include parties listed on the Euronat page which appear to have links with Euronat short of full membership.

[edit] National results

Party group Country	EPP–ED	PES	ELDR	Greens/ EFA	EUL/ NGL	UEN	EDD	others⁶	seats	percentage of parliament	turnout
Austria (details)	6	7	-	2	-	-	-	2+1	18	2.5%	42.4%
Belgium (details)	4+1+1+1	4+3	3+2	1+1	-	-	-	3	24	3.3%	90.81%
Cyprus (details)	2	-	1	-	2	-	-	1	6	0.8%	71.19%
Czech Republic (details)	9+2	2	-	-	6	-	-	5	24	3.3%	28.32%
Denmark (details)	1	5	3+1	-	1	1	1	1	14	1.9%	47.85%
Estonia (details)	1	3	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	6	0.8%	26.89%
Finland (details)	4	3	4+1	1	1	-	-	-	14	1.9%	41.1%
France (details)	17+11	31	-	6	3	-	-	7+3	78	10.7%	43.1%
Germany (details)	40+9	23	7	13	7	-	-	-	99	13.5%	43.0%
Greece (details)	11	8	-	-	3+1	-	-	1	24	3.3%	62.8%
Hungary (details)	12+1	9	2	-	-	-	-	-	24	3.3%	38.47%
Republic of Ireland (details)	5	1	-	-	1	4	-	1+1	13	1.8%	61.0%
Italy (details)	16+5+2 +1+1+1	12+2	5+2 +1+1	2	5+2	9	-	4+2+2 +1+1+1	78	10.7%	73.5%
Latvia (details)	2+1	-	1	1	-	4	-	-	9	1.2%	41.23%
Lithuania (details)	2+1	2	2+1	-	-	-	-	5	13	1.8%	48.2%
Luxembourg (details)	3	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	6	0.8%	90.0%
Malta (details)	2	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	0.7%	82.37%
Netherlands (details)	7	7	4+1	2+2	2	-	2		27	3.7%	39.1%
Poland (details)	15+4	5+3	4	-	-	7	-	10+6	54	7.4%	20.42%
Portugal (details)	7	12	-	-	2	2	-	1	24	3.3%	38.7%
Slovakia (details)	3+3+2	3	-	-	-	-	-	3	14	1.9%	16.96%
Slovenia (details)	2+2	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	7	1.0%	28.25%
Spain (details)	24	24	1+1	1+1	2	-	-	-	54	7.4%	45.1%
Sweden (details)	4+1	5	2+1	1	2	-	-	3	19	2.6%	37.2%
United Kingdom (details)	27+1	19	12	2+1+2	1	-	12	1	78	10.7%	38.9%
total	277 37.8%	198 27.0%	68 9.3%	40 5.5%	39 5.3%	27 3.7%	15 2.0%	68 9.3%	732	100.0%	45.5%

¹ Due to calculation used to determine number of seats awarded to a party, the percentage of the vote will not exactly match the number of seats
⁶Includes parties which belong to Non-Attached group as well as newly elected parties which have not yet been able to select their grouping. May include more than one party and seats obtained will not be directly comparable with the party results shown.

Final results are also available from the official EU website.


European Union parliamentary elections v • d • e
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1999	Austria · Belgium · Denmark · Finland · France · Germany · Greece · Ireland · Italy · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Portugal · Spain · Sweden · United Kingdom
2004	Austria · Belgium · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Ireland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Netherlands · Poland · Portugal · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · United Kingdom 2007: Bulgaria · Romania
2009	Austria · Belgium · Bulgaria · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Ireland · Italy · Latvia · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Netherlands · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · United Kingdom

[edit] New parties in the 2004 election

Voting in the election, in the Netherlands

In the United Kingdom, RESPECT The Unity Coalition was established to fight this election with the intention to use it as a springboard for a campaign against Tony Blair's government. The English Democrats Party appear in England for the first time in 5 of the 9 English Constituencies, campaigning for an English Parliament and anti English 'European' regions.

A European Union-wide political party, the European Greens, was established in Rome on 21 February 2004 to contest this election.

Swedish Junilistan (the June list) formed early in the year, meant to provide social democratic and right wing voters a EU sceptic alternative.

In the Netherlands Europa Transparant of Paul van Buitenen got two seats

In Austria the Liste Hans-Peter Martin obtained two seats.

[edit] Political group reshuffle after the 2004 election

Liberals: The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party created a new grouping by allying with MEPs from the French party Union for French Democracy (previously part of the EPP-ED), the Margherita Party (Italy) (previously part of the EPP-ED), other Italian members, the Lithuanian Labour Party and the Belgian MR-MCC (previously EPP-ED). The new allies formed the EDP and a new combined group, between the ELDR and the EDP, was formed with the name ALDE: the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.