Polls opened in the Netherlands today to begin four days of parliamentary elections across the European Union. The European Parliament is the only EU institution directly elected by citizens of the union’s 27 member states. (AP)
It’s both a poignant and bitterly ironic historical coincidence that voting in EU elections is starting as world leaders from Europe and the U.S. gather in Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It’s poignant because the European Union’s emergence, expansion and consolidation came as a direct response to World War II, representing a pan-continental effort to ensure that Europe was never the stage for such a war again.
It’s bitterly ironic in part because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, but also because the rise of far-right parties—some of which have their historical roots in WWII-era fascist parties—has come to dominate the lead up to this election.
Indeed, far-right parties are expected to surge in representation in the European Parliament following the vote. To be sure, the far right across Europe remains divided and is not expected to win a majority, nor will it be a part of the parliament’s dominant coalition. But its influence will certainly be felt, leaving the dominant coalition—likely to be made up of center-right and center-left parties—with less room to maneuver.
Perhaps more important, though, is that the tone of this election is notably different from prior votes. In the past, European parliamentary elections were mainly used as anti-incumbent protest votes on the domestic level, and anti-Brussels protest votes on the EU level, reflecting a widespread view of the bloc as politically distant and technocratically intrusive.
But as Caroline de Gruyter writes for The New York Times, engagement with the EU elections as a high-stakes political contest in its own right seems more intense this year than perhaps ever before. Citizens of member states have a deeper appreciation of the benefits EU membership provides, especially given the U.K.’s struggles in the aftermath of Brexit. And there’s a growing desire across the bloc for Brussels to be more democratically responsive. As a result, turnout for this vote may well set a record for European parliamentary elections.
The shift is driven by the fact that, since the last EU elections in 2019, the very nature of the union has changed, reflecting changes in the world beyond it. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic signaled the EU’s ability to work as a cohesive and effective political actor. The war in Ukraine has underscored Brussels’ ability to unite as a strong geopolitical actor. The changes reflect French President Emmanuel Macron’s longstanding vision for the EU as an autonomous “Europe that protects,” at a time when many Europeans feel the need for such protection.