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| Newsletter 17.06.2004SPECIAL EDITION AFTER THE ELECTIONS - Reactions on the ElectionsCONTENTS: 1. Editorial Dear Europeans! It was a sad Sunday for Europe . The results of the elections apart, the turnout was disappointingly low. While most of the surveys predicted that the turnout at the first European elections in the enlarged Union will be higher then ever before, this was not the case. Only 45,5% of European voters came to the polls. There are, of course, many issues to be worried about. The low turnout is a signal that European citizens do not feel the direct link to the European Parliament or European affairs in general. The national results have shown that most of the governments have been defeated by their opposition and sadly this shows that even those voters that came to the polls, voted on the basis of the performance of their government, not former or potential Members of the EP. The second worrying point is the increase of support for the euro -sceptic parties. The preliminary results of the elections in the United Kingdom show that these parties will have nearly as many MEPs as the Labour party. A similar trend, although not so strong, can be observed in many other member states as well. The third bitter outcome of the elections is that new member states, with some exceptions, have performed very poorly. The lowest turnout has been recorded in Slovakia (16,7%), followed by Poland and Czech Republic . The analysts will have to answer one fundamental question: Why is there such voting apathy in these countries, after overwhelmingly positive results at the recent EU referendums? To deliver the basic answer there is no need to write long analysis, though. People can not be forced to the polling station, but have to be attracted! And only by making Europe more attractive and visible we can convince more people to vote. Europe does influence people's lives already, but until now this was made unclear, partly by national governments and politicians. Their behaviour will be hard to change, but more effort should be put into this attempt. The second point where things have to change is the institutional setting of the current EU. European citizens and Europe deserve a proper government that will speak for them and work for them. This government should reflect the political realities in the EP and should also be accountable to it. Only then will people see the direct impact of their votes! The Intergovernmental Conference has started today and all European leaders will have the time to reflect on these challenges. Let's hope that when they finish we can have a better weekend, then it was the previous! With best regards , Editor in Chief
NOTE: Since the Elections are over, the format of the newsletter will change. Wait until the next edition to see how! The next edition will be sent to you on 2nd July 2004. Your contributions are welcome at newsletter@giveeuropeaface.net, deadline for the next issue is 1st July 2004. You can read this Newsletter on-line at: http://www.giveeuropeaface.net Contact details follow at the end of this newsletter. "The anti-integration parties won." Vladimir Spidla, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic ----- "Perhaps for many voters Brussels or Strasbourg is too far from their capitals... People are disappointed with their governments, not with the EU." Ben Bot, Foreign Minister of Netherlands ----- "This is especially important as a wake-up call for those leaders in those states who propose to hold referenda on the constitutional treaty. " Pat Cox, President of the European parliament ----- "To a certain extent [voters in new EU member states are] tired of voting... But it reflects a certain disillusion with the way their countries are moving." Graham Watson, leader of the European Liberal Democrats group in the EP ----- "...the main political point is that if Europe does not become the arena where decisions that have a direct impact on the life of Europeans are taken, one can hardly expect to involve people convincingly." Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission ----- "[The low turnout] is a sign that the reunification of the continent, achieved on paper, remains yet to be achieved in the hearts and minds of the people." commentary in La Repubblica, an Italian newspaper ----- "It is very important that the ten new members, at the very heart of the European identity, engage Javier Solana, EU High Representative for CFSP, on the eve of the EP elections ----- The provisional results provided by the European Parliament Elections Website. ----- Members of the EP according to political groups.
Source: http://www.elections2004.eu.int/ep-election/sites/en/results1306/global.html ----- The same website offers also provisional turnout numbers per country.
Source: http://www.elections2004.eu.int/ep-election/sites/en/results1306/turnout_ep/turnout_table.html ----- ----- 4.1 Party of European Socialists (PES) PRESS RELEASE Sunday 13 June 2004 “We keep our strength– now we deliver in our promises” Social democrats have emerged from the European elections as “the key group in the new European Parliament”, said PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen tonight. ----- 4.2 European Greens PRESS RELEASE EU is in need of real pan-European election campaignsCommenting on the results of the European elections, Daniel Cohn-Bendit , Co-Speaker of the European Greens election campaign, said: "Most of the election campaigns across Europe debated only national issues so it is not surprising that citizens were not properly mobilised to vote or that euro-scepticism was fostered. The dramatically low turn-out in these elections – and especially so in the Union's new members – shows that citizens are neither fully aware of the benefits of membership of the European Union nor of the Parliament." "Only real Europe-wide election campaigns – such as that run for the first time this year by the European Greens – can change the situation in the future. The Greens therefore urge that a percentage of MEPs is directly elected through transnational lists in the next European elections. We also advocate that the heads of lists from the European groups run for the post of European Commission President." Source: http://www.eurogreens.org/cms/default/dok/9/9511.eu_is_in_need_of_real_paneuropean_electi.htm If you want to learn more about the results of the Greens around Europe, visit: http://www.eurogreens.org/cms/default/dok/9/9495.provisional_list_of_results_and_elected.htm ----- 4.3 European Liberal Democrats (ELDR) PRESS RELEASE "European Liberal Democrats remain Parliament's pivotal political force" "The European Liberal Democrats remain the pivotal political force in the European Parliament", European Liberal Democrat leader commented today on the provisional results of the European Parliament elections. According to provisional estimates, the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Group will have approximately 66 MEPs, including 12 Liberal Democrat MEPs from the UK (up 2), 7 FDP MEPs from Germany (up 7) and 4 MEPs from Poland (up 4). Welcoming the success of the ELDR, Mr Watson said: "The European Liberal Democrats remain the pivotal political force in the European Parliament. I expect the ELDR Group to be at least as strong as we were in the last Parliament, if not stronger. We will continue to have clout out of proportion to our numbers thanks to a larger number of Liberal Democrat MEPs from Britain (12), the welcome election of 7 Free Democrats Party MEPs from Germany and four MEPs from Poland." "In Britain, the Liberal Democrats have increased their share of vote and elected two more MEPs than in 1999, in stark contrast to the collapse in the fortunes of the Labour and Conservative parties. At a time when the eurosceptics have gained ground, the Liberal Democrats have increased their vote on a pro-European platform." To read the full statement, visit: http://eld.europarl.eu.int ----- If you want to see how various liberal parties performed in their member states, please visit: http://www.eldr.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=497 ----- 4.4 European People's party PRESS RELEASE EPP winner of European elections 2004 The preliminary results of the European elections indicate that the largest political group in the European Parliament, the EPP-ED Group, will retain its leading position with some 276 seats in the new Parliament (total: 732). More than 150 million voters participated in the largest election ever to take place in Europe . Despite a disappointing overall turnout of only 44.2%, reflecting a very low turnout in the new Member States, voters turned out in larger numbers than in 1999 in the Netherlands , Ireland , Finland , and the UK . The result clearly shows that the EPP is the winner of this election and I above all want to thank our voters,” EPP President Martens told the press in the European Parliament last night (13/06). “I am delighted that the EPP-ED Group will remain by far the largest parliamentary group – and the only one with deputies from all Member States of the Union .” Read the entire press release on-line at: http://www.eppe.org/Default.asp?COM=306&CAT0=306&CAT1=0&CAT2=0 ----- 5.1 Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) ----- PRESS RELEASE June 14, 2004 The people know their voice does not count. It's time for a European government accountable to the European Parliament. Reacting to the results of the European Parliament elections, the Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) express their concern about the much increased level of support for parties skeptical about the process of European integration, and the record low turnout across the continent. “The clear message from these elections is that the European Union is presently not meeting its citizens' needs,” stated Jon Worth, President of JEF-Europe. “The European elections have proven to be too abstract, too distant.” “No one knows what will change after voting one way or another in the European elections. That simply has to change.” “No government is dependent on the support of the majority party in the European Parliament. The process of European integration seems to go on and citizens fear they have no control over the process.” JEF-Europe has long campaigned for a truly federal structure for the European Union with the European Commission becoming a government for the EU, held to account by the European Parliament. “We have to make sure the voice of the citizens is better heard at European level,” continued Jon Worth. “As a first step, the European Parliament should be granted the power to elect the President of the European Commission, a decisive step to bring the EU's executive under democratic control.” “Looking further into the future, if the EU wishes to reform any of its policies, the power to do so should be in the hands of the European Parliament, not subject to lowest-common-denominator bargaining among national governments.” “People rightly want something to change when they vote; only in a European federation would their vote have the value it deserves!” Your Press Contact: Marianne Bonnard, Secretary General. mailto:sg@jef-europe.net Tel: +32 2 5120053 http://www.jef-europe.net/ ----- Results of Give Europe a Face on-line poll - www.giveeuropeaface.net After some weeks of polls, simultaneously with the declaration of the EP Elections results around Europe we closed our own Poll Election the Face of Europe and... She is a woman, she is from one of the new Members and she is also OUR WINNER! VAIRA VIKE FREIBERGA IS OUR FACE OF EUROPE !!!!! It is a pleasure for us to inform you that Vaira Vike Freiberga won with 704 votes, 75.05% of the total, our Poll of the Face of Europe. In the Final Poll the Latvian President, who grew up and lived in exile in Germany, Morocco and Canada and came back to her country to support the political and economic renovation of Latvia faced prominent figures as: the former Czech President Vaclav Havel (101 votes), the Former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene (89 votes) and the French football player Zinedine Zidane (44 votes). However, the Latvian lady who represents the new start and hope of Latvia in the enlarged Europe won over them! Nevertheless, we would like also to congratulate the rest of the finalists and to wish them the best of luck in their writings, in the European Parliament as MP and in the European Football Championship! CONGRATULATIONS VAIRA! For more information about Vaira Vike-Freiberga click on: http://www.president.lv/ ----- The team of the project "Give Europe a Face" presents the prizes for the best and wort participant in the EP Elections 2004. PRIZE FOR THE BEST PARTICIPANT:
PRIZE FOR THE WORST PARTICIPANT:
----- Jeunes Européens France (JE-FRANCE) COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE Paris, le 14 juin 2003
http://www.jeunes-europeens.org/article.php3?id_article=280 ----- 5.2 EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM (EYF) The European Youth Forum opened a small on-line survey to make an estimate of how many young EU citizens from 18 to 30 years old have participated in the recent European Parliament elections. To go to the survey click on the below link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=14762523406 ----- 5.3 Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP) PRESS RELEASE With some 269 seats in future European Parliament The EPP wins the 2004 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS! ----- 5.4 European Liberal Youth (LYMEC)PRESS RELEASE European Liberals at the heart of Europe European Liberal Youth – LYMEC – is pleased to see that the elections have reaffirmed and strengthened the position of liberals in the European Parliament. Nevertheless, we remain concerned at the increased display of euroscepticism and the low turnout, both of which threaten the legitimacy of European democracy. “These results ensure that ELDR will have the balance power within the new European Parliament, strengthening its central position as the third party” said Roger Albinyana i Saigí , President of LYMEC. ‘The Rising Tide of Euroscepticism' Roger added: “the composition of the chamber shows that the liberal members will be seated in a very eurosceptic Parliament, coming not only from traditional eurosceptic groups, but also from the Greens, the EPP and the PES”. Full press release is available on-line: http://www.lymec.net/ ----- 6. Reactions and comments from EU Institutions and other sources 6.1 European Commission Brussels , 14 June 2004 Commission Statement on the European Parliament elections The Commission expresses satisfaction at the way the elections have taken place, mobilising citizens and political forces across the continent in strict compliance with the rules of democracy. As regards the rate of participation, the elections send two very important signals: first , participation by citizens in the countries that were members of the Union at 1 May is stable, with encouraging signs in some countries (e.g. the United Kingdom , the Netherlands , Finland and Italy ) where there has been a significant increase in the number of voters. Secondly , these elections reveal a serious problem of participation in a large number of member countries that joined the Union last May. With two clear exceptions ( Cyprus and Malta ), plus two other cases of countries where the situation can be regarded as acceptable ( Latvia and Lithuania ), the rate of participation in the new Member States is highly unsatisfactory. A huge effort to mobilise resources and energy is needed to put Europe back at the centre of political debate in these Member States. This is a responsibility that the European institutions have no intention of shirking. I call on the Governments of these countries to put resources and enthusiasm into this task, which is clearly a top priority for the next five years. But the main political point is that if Europe does not become the arena where decisions that have a direct impact on the life of Europeans are taken, one can hardly expect to involve people convincingly. In the work before us in the European Council at the end of the week, I expect the Heads of State and Government to take note of this fact and to draw the institutional consequences, which need to be addressed urgently... To read the full statement in English follow the link in French: in Italian: ----- 6.2 Fondation Robert Schuman On the website www.elections-europeennes.org the Fondation Robert Schuman offers some academic studies of the European Elections and the role of the European Parliament. The documents are available in French. Please visit: http://www.elections-europeennes.org/etude2.htm ----- 6.3 Cafe Babel To mark the European Parliament Elections taking place from June 10th to 13th, cafe babel - Europe's premier multilingual magazine - presents a special issue. Not to be missed! Visit: http://www.cafebabel.com/en/ ----- 6.4 The European Policy Centre (EPC) The European Policy Centre has published fresh comments on the EP Elections, that can be found on their website. "The European Parliament election - a wake-up call?" by John Palmer is accessible on-line at: http://www.theepc.net/en/default.asp?TYP=TEWN&LV=363&PG=TEWN/EN/detail&l=&AI=363 and "The EP elections: Deepening the democratic deficit" by Max Kohnstamm is available at: http://www.theepc.net/en/default.asp?TYP=TEWN&LV=364&PG=TEWN/EN/detail&l=&AI=364 ----- 7.1 European Environmental Bureau (EBB) FIRST RESPONSE TO EUROPEAN ELECTIONS FROM EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL BUREAU Brussels , 14 June 2004 In a first reaction to the European elections results, the Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau expressed disappointment. John Hontelez, head of the largest federation of environmental organisations in Europe , said 'these elections show that Member States' governments and the European Commission have failed to increase the EU's credibility with its citizens. Only four out of ten voters gave their vote to parties supporting the EU. The others were just not motivated, or actively supported parties critical or dismissive of the EU'. Visit: http://www.eeb.org/press/pr_european_elections_14_06_04.htm ----- 7.2 European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) REACTION TO THE OUTCOME OF THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS14. June 2004 The ETUC regrets the low turnout in the European elections, and declares that this is a clear signal for the European Union to make more progress towards Social Europe. “The success of some far-right and nationalist parties is a reminder of the risk for Europe when there is little progress to show on social matters. It must be a Europe for the people and not only a business Europe ”, declared John Monks, General Secretary of the ETUC. The low turnout is disappointing. But it is also a clear signal: European citizens fail to see the concrete benefits of European activities in their daily lives. Political leaders have focused their campaigns too much on national issues. In many cases, Europeans have expressed their utter confusion and their criticisms on some European decisions, rather than necessarily taking an anti-European stand... To read the full PR, please visit: www.etuc.org/en ----- 7.3 Group of Ten TOWARDS A STRONGER, MORE DYNAMIC EUROPEAN UNION The Group of Ten, chaired by H.E. Ambassador Cesidio Guazzaroni, is composed of The Group draws inspiration from four basic concepts: a) It is necessary for the Community system to rapidly and thoroughly evolve towards
accomplishing the Union of European peoples sharing the same ideal, in order to
strengthen European citizenship, allow lasting economic and social development, To read the entire document, download it from: http://europa.eu.int/futurum/analyse/contrib/acad/0063_c4_en.pdf ----- 7.4 European Cultural Foundation (ECF)APPEAL FOR A CULTURAL EUROPE Culture unites Europeans. We have learnt to share what we have in common by celebrating our differences. ‘Ever closer union’, however, can only be built by citizens who are able to construct a community of memories and aspirations. We need more pooled projects that strengthen heritage preservation, contemporary artistic creation and cultural collaboration as platforms for the building of trust and common purposes. We need to build European public spaces of reflection, critique, debate and creativity, bolstered by a vibrant
cross-border media environment... Read the full appeal on-line: http://www.efah.org/en/policy_development/manifesto_2004/appealen.pdf ----- CONTACT DETAILS The
bulletin is produced by:Young European Federalists/ Jeunes Européens
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It is a pleasure for us to inform you that our special prize for the best Participant in the EP Elections 2004 goes to MALTA . The New Member with an 82.4% turnout deserves our congratulations. It makes us very happy to see how one of the New Members gets involved so active in the first EP Elections they participate in, and we really hope the rest of the Members look at this small island as an example to follow. 
If somebody wins somebody loses. We would be especially satisfied if we should not need to give the prize for the worst participant to anybody, but unfortunately SLOVAKIA with only 16.7% of participation has been, without doubts, the worst of the 25 countries...concerning turnout levels. We expect that during the following 5 years Slovakia realizes the important role the EP plays in our lives, and show us in 2009 how much they want to participate in its configuration. 
