May Posted by glhermine. All Members of the European Parliament MEPs , elected from their individual member-states, were up for reelection. The EP serves a five-year term and cannot be dissolved. Germany, the most populous country in the EU, elects 96 for a population of European elections are subject to certain EU-wide common principles and rule.
First and foremost among them is the requirement, instituted in , that elections in each member-state must be based on some form of proportional representation including STV. Member-states are free, while respecting these basic principles, to adopt their own laws regarding the electoral system, voter and candidate eligibility.
For example, most countries elect their MEPs in a single national constituency but six member-states Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Poland and the UK are subdivided into regional constituencies which each elect a specific number of MEPs. Some countries allow voters to alter the list of candidates open list PR , while others do not closed list PR. Rules on voter and candidate eligibility vary from country to country.
In some countries, a minimum period of residence is required. Rules on voting by non-resident nationals in their country of origin varies considerably — France now allows all French citizens living abroad and registered on the consular electoral lists or in a municipality in France to vote, Greeks residents abroad may only vote if they live in the EU and in Ireland only those resident in Ireland may vote.
The age of eligibility to stand varies, although it generally set at 18; in some countries, such as Belgium, voting is mandatory. The EU is something of a juggernaut, with complex institutions and procedures which are incomprehensible or off-putting to many. The Parliament, however, lacks the power of legislative initiative — EU laws may only be drafted by the European Commission, the main executive and bureaucratic arm of the EU.
