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DE RUEHBS #0755/01 1531111
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O 021111Z JUN 09
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000755 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/ERA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EUN ECON
 
SUBJECT:  EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS I: THE SETTING 
 
REF: 08 BRUSSELS 1825 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY:  The European Parliament (EP), the only multinational 
parliamentary assembly in the world elected by universal suffrage, 
will be re-elected 4-7 June across the 27 member states of the 
European Union for another five-year term.  The EP's 754 members 
will represent 500 million citizens.  The elections will be held 
under the provisions of the Nice Treaty, absent ratification of the 
Lisbon Treaty.  The EP shares with the European Council European 
Union budget authority, and decision-making powers on such issues as 
financial services, environment, transportation, data privacy, 
development aid, asylum and immigration -- all significant issues in 
U.S.-EU relations.  (Additional powers would be granted to the EP 
under the Lisbon Treaty.)  Candidates run as national party members 
but function in the EP as part of European party groups.  Low voter 
turnout is expected, and member-state domestic issues will likely 
prevail.  Although the EP called for election results to be taken 
into account for the designations of Commission and EP presidents, 
those appointments appear, once again, to have been decided in 
advance.  END SUMMARY 
 
THE EP ROLE IN THE EU: BACKGROUND 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  The European Parliament (EP) was created in 1962 when the 
European Coal and Steel Community Assembly decided to describe 
itself as the "European Parliament."  It became one of the three 
primary EU institutions, joining the appointed European Commission 
representing "community interests," and the Council of Ministers 
representing member-state governments.  In 1976, the member states 
adopted an act providing for direct elections of MEPs to five-year 
terms, making the EP the only EU institution directly elected.  The 
first elections were held 30 years ago, in 1979.  For much of its 
life, the European Parliament could well have been labeled a 
"multi-lingual talk shop"; however, its power has grown rapidly over 
the last few years, and the EP is now one of the most powerful 
legislatures in the world both in terms of its legislative and 
executive oversight powers and the import of its agenda. 
 
EP: WHAT IT CAN DO 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  The EP does not fulfill all of the functions of traditional 
national parliaments.  It cannot raise revenues for the EU 
(member-state governments do) or initiate legislation (only the 
European Commission does).  Nonetheless, the EP has steadily gained 
powers under the successive European treaties (Reftel), and this 
trend will continue if the Lisbon Treaty is adopted.  The EP's 
powers consist principally of: (1) budgetary powers, whereby the EP 
can amend and must give final approval to the EU budget (except for 
agricultural expenditures) and must also approve transfers between 
key budget lines (for instance, to supplement foreign affairs 
spending); (2) "co-decision" power, shared equally between the EP 
and the member states (through the Council), to amend or reject 
Commission-initiated legislation in internal markets -- including 
areas that can affect U.S. interests such as transportation, data 
protection, environment and development aid; and (3) oversight and 
monitoring of the other EU institutions.  The European Parliament 
also has the final say on the accession of new member states, and 
can vote to approve or reject, as a slate, the European 
Commissioners appointed by the member states.  The EP is consulted 
on certain types of treaties concluded by the EU with other 
governments. 
 
SEAT ALLOCATION FOR THE 2009 ELECTION 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  The number of MEPs has risen with each enlargement.  Seat 
allocation is determined generally according to population, but with 
a minimal threshold for smaller countries and considerably more 
voters per MEP in the larger countries. 
 
¶5.  Because the Lisbon Treaty has not yet been ratified, this year's 
European elections will be arranged under the modified Treaty of 
Nice.  Lisbon and Nice differ on both the total numbers and the 
allocation of seats between member states.  Nice provides for 736 
seats and the Lisbon Treaty for 751 seats.  There were two 
complications: The number of German MEPs should have decreased from 
99 to 96 after the elections, and twelve member states should have 
gained a seat or two each.  As it was difficult to expel three MEPs 
during a parliamentary term, heads of state decided in December 2008 
to allow 754 MEPs until the end of the five year parliamentary term 
in 2014 (thus the term "modified Treaty of Nice"). 
 
The number of MEPs per country is as follows, in descending order: 
 
-- Country - 2004-2009/Nice/Lisbon/2009 election 
 
-- Germany - 99/99/96/99 
-- France - 78/72/74/74 
 
BRUSSELS 00000755  002 OF 002 
 
 
-- Italy - 78/72/73/73 
-- UK - 78/72/73/73 
-- Spain - 54/50/54/54 
-- Poland - 54/50/51/51 
-- Romania - 35/33/33/33 
-- Netherlands - 27/25/26/26 
-- Belgium, Czech Rep., Greece, Hungary, Portugal - 24/22/22/22 
-- Sweden - 19/18/20/20 
-- Austria - 18/17/19/19 
-- Bulgaria - 18/17/18/18 
-- Denmark, Finland, Slovakia - 14/13/13/13 
-- Ireland, Lithuania - 13/12/12/12 
-- Latvia - 9/8/9/9 
-- Slovenia - 7/7/8/8 
-- Luxembourg, Estonia, Cyprus - 6/6/6/6 
-- Malta - 5/5/6/6 
 
POLITICAL GROUPS IN THE EP 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6.  MEPs are generally elected in their countries on national party 
lists, with each country's seats allocated among political parties 
on a proportional basis.  MEPs then unite in transnational political 
party groupings in the EP.  The Socialists/Social Democrats (PES) 
and the Christian Democrats/Conservatives (EPP-ED) have always been 
the two largest groups, with a changing pattern of smaller groups. 
The EPP-ED was the largest group in 2004-2009, with 288 seats to 217 
for the PES.  The Liberal group grew to become the third group with 
100 members, the right UEN grew with the Polish Law and Justice 
Party to become the fourth group with 44 seats, the Greens followed 
(now 43 seats), and then the far-Left (GUE-NGL now 41 seats.) 
Political groups will be re-forming after the 2009 elections. 
Notably, the UK conservatives have announced they will leave the 
EPP-ED group to create a new Euro-skeptic group, which may cause the 
EPP-ED to lose its first position to the Socialists. 
 
LOW INTEREST IN EP ELECTIONS 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7.  Preliminary indications are that voters' lack of understanding 
of the EP will continue a decline in voter participation.  Despite 
the direct vote and the Parliament's increasing influence, voter 
turnout has fallen consistently.  While turnout reached 63% in 1979, 
it was 45.6% in 2004.  Although EU-wide issues such as the economic 
crisis, future EU enlargement, and EU relations with third 
countries, such as the U.S., should ordinarily play a role in the 
campaign, polls indicate the EP elections will focus, once again, 
mainly on issues voters associate not with the EU, but with the 
performance of their national governments, such as unemployment, 
crime, and immigration. 
 
¶8.  The campaign issues will be the subject of our following cable 
on the EP elections. 
 
MURRAY