A Snapshot: European Parliament Elections 2014

Vinces has put together an overview to shed some light on the various EU institutional changes of the coming month. In addition to the nuts-and-bolts of the EU electoral proces, here is a bit of comment on how we see the changes in the political landscape in the EU. Without a doubt, social unrest and political discontent are the two dominant factors of the upcoming European Parliament Elections. Both of them have been growing exponentially as the crisis has deteriored the economy of the European welfare state. The tendency of EU voters is to veiw with skepticism and wariness both the EU Institutions and the two main political parties responsible for handling the crisis so far. Nationalism and populism are spreading across the region. In Spain, vote projections by SIGMA DOS show two main trends:(i) abstention from voting; (ii) increasingly political clout of small political parties versus the two predominant ones. Nonetheless Niall Ferguson wrote a piece in The Finantial Times, «A populism spurned by downturn’s discontents», which concludes that the trend will not be as radical as one might think by looking at certain signs. Citing the work of Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ferguson forecasts a victory of the S&D against the EPP. Some might not agree with this estimate, but it is an important conclusion to keep in mind.

2014 is a year of political change in the European Union institutions. A new European Parliament will be elected followed by the appointment of a new European Commission and a new President to the European Council.*

Read more: Vinces_EuropeanElections2014