1994 European Parliament election

The 1994 European Parliamentary election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994.

1994 European Parliament election

← 19899–12 June 19941999 →

All 567 seats to the European Parliament
285 seats needed for a majority
Turnout56.8% Decrease 1.7 pp
 Majority partyMinority party
 
LeaderPauline GreenWilfried Martens
PartyPESEPP
Leader's seatLondon NorthBelgium (Dutch)
Last election180121
Seats won198157
Seat changeIncrease18Increase36

Post-election composition of each member state's delegation

This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall number of seats (567 members were elected to the European Parliament) and a fall in overall turnout to 57%.

The five years which had passed since the previous election had seen enormous political upheavals across the continent. These changes included the end of communism in Europe, German reunification, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Velvet Divorce in Czechoslovakia and the breakup of Yugoslavia. The integration of five former East German states and Berlin into the Federal Republic of Germany had constituted the first physical expansion of the EC since 1986. The end of the Cold War meant three politically neutral states in Europe had begun a process of acceding to the EU that would culminate in the 1995 enlargement of the European Union. The EU itself had assumed its current name through adoption of the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993.

Results edit

European Parliament election, 1994 - Final results at 18–21 July 1994
GroupDescriptionChaired byMEPs
 PESSocial democratsPauline Green198
 EPPConservatives and Christian democratsWilfried Martens157
 ELDRLiberals and liberal democratsGijs De Vries43
 EULCommunists and the far leftAlonso José Puerta28
 FEConservatives and Christian democratsGiancarlo Ligabue27
 EDANational conservativesJean-Claude Pasty26
 GGreensAlexander Langer
Claudia Roth
23
 ERARadicals, social liberals and regionalistsCatherine Lalumière19
 ENEuroscepticsJames Goldsmith19
 NIIndependentsnone27Total: 567Sources: [1][2][3]
Seats summary
PES
34.92%
EPP
27.69%
ELDR
7.58%
EUL
4.94%
FE
4.76%
EDA
4.59%
G
4.06%
ERA
3.35%
EN
3.35%
NI
4.76%

The Technical Group of the European Right no longer had enough MEPs to qualify as a Group, and its MEPs returned for the time being to the ranks of the independents. The members of the European Democrats joined the European People's Party (EPP), some as associate members such as the British Conservatives who did not wish to subscribe to the EPP's pro-federalist position. Despite the merger, the EPP failed one more to become the largest party; the Party of European Socialists once more claimed victory, with a 41-seat lead over the People's Party.

Forza Italia was elected for the first time in 1994; it formed its own shortlived group, Forza Europa, before this merged with the European Democratic Alliance a year after the election to become the Group Union for Europe. In addition to Forza Europa, another new group was founded following the fall of the European Right group: the Europe of Nations Group (Coordination Group)—the first Eurosceptic group in the Parliament, which lasted until 1996.

Results by country edit

The national results as at 9–12 June 1994 are as follows:

Group
Nation
PESEPPELDREULFEEDAGERAENNITotal
Belgium3 PS
3 SP
4 CVP
2 PSC
1 CSP
3 VLD
3 PRLFDF
1 ECOLO
1 AGALEV
1 VU2 VB
1 FN
25
Denmark3 A3 C4 V
1 B
1 SF2 J
2 N
16
France15 PS13 UDF1 UDF7 PCF14 RPR13 MRG13 UDF diss.11 FN87
Germany40 SPD39 CDU
8 CSU
12 GRÜNE99
Greece10 PASOK9 ND2 KKE
2 Synaspismos
2 PA25
Ireland1 Lab4 FG1 Ind.7 FF2 GP15
Italy16 PDS
2 PSI
8 PPI
3 Patto
1 SVP
6 LN
1 PRI
5 PRC27 FI3 FdV
1 Rete
2 LP11 AN
1 PSDI
87
Luxembourg2 LSAP2 CSV1 DP1 Gréng6
Netherlands8 PvdA10 CDA6 VVD
4 D66
1 GL1 SGP
1 GPV
31
Portugal10 PS9 PSD3 CDU3 CDS–PP25
Spain22 PSOE28 PP
2 CiU (UDC)
2 CN (EAJ)
2 CiU (CDC)9 IU1 CN (CC)64
United Kingdom62 LAB
1 SDLP
18 CON
1 UUP
2 LD2 SNP1 DUP87
Total1981653528272623191927567

Statistics edit

European Parliament election, 1994 - Statistics
AreaDatesSeatsElectorateTurnoutPreviousNextElection methodsSources
European Union
(EU-12)
9, 12 June
1994
567269,261,00056.8%19891995All PR, except UK (not NI)
which used FPTP
[4] Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine [5]
European Parliament election, 1994 - Timeline
Third Parliament1994 ElectionRegroupingFourth Parliament
GroupsPre-elections
May 30
ChangeResults
June 13
ChangeResults
July 19
New
Groups
First session
July 19
 PES198+1199-1198 PES198
 EPP162-14148+9157 EPP157
 LDR45-243+043 ELDR43
 LU13+013+1528 EUL28
 DR12+214-1427 NI27
 NI27+1037-10
 Others0+5959-1319 EN19
27 FE27
 EDA20+424+226 EDA26
 G27-522+123 G23
 RBW14-68+1119 ERA19
Total518+49567+0567Total567
Sources: [6] Archived 2006-09-12 at the Wayback Machine [7] [8][9][10]
European Parliament election, 1994 - Delegation at 19 July 1994
GroupDescriptionDetails%MEPs
 PESSocial democratsGermany 40, Belgium 6, Denmark 3, France 15, Ireland 1, Italy 18, Luxembourg 2, Netherlands 8, UK 63, Greece 10, Spain 22, Portugal 1035%198
 EPPConservatives and Christian democratsGermany 47, Belgium 7, Denmark 3, France 13, Ireland 4, Italy 12, Luxembourg 2, Netherlands 10, UK 19, Greece 9, Spain 30, Portugal 128%157
 ELDRLiberals and liberal democratsBelgium 6, Denmark 5, France 1, Ireland 1, Italy 7, Luxembourg 1, Netherlands 10, UK 2, Spain 2, Portugal 88%43
 EULSocialists and communistsFrance 7, Italy 5, Greece 4, Spain 9, Portugal 35%28
 NIIndependentsBelgium 3, France 11, Italy 12, UK 15%27
 FEConservatives and Christian democratsItaly 275%27
 EDANational conservativesFrance 14, Ireland 7, Greece 2, Portugal 35%26
 GGreensGermany 12, Belgium 2, Denmark 1, Ireland 2, Italy 4, Luxembourg 1, Netherlands 14%23
 ERALiberals and liberal democratsBelgium 1, France 13, Italy 2, UK 2, Spain 13%19
 ENEuroscepticsDenmark 4, France 13, Netherlands 23%19
Sources: [11] [12] [13] [14] Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine [15]100%567

Seat distribution edit

The number of seats was changed to accommodate Austria, Finland and Sweden who were joining the following year, holding elections then. They were granted 21,16 and 22 seats respectively. The total number of seats increased from 518 to 567.

National Distribution of Seats
State19891994State19891994
 Germany8199  Belgium2425
 United Kingdom8187  Portugal2425
 France8187  Greece2425
 Italy8187  Denmark1616
 Spain6064  Ireland1515
 Netherlands2531  Luxembourg66

External links edit