EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS TURNOUT

Voter turnout was once again very low. The average for the entire European Union was 51%. But keep in mind that countries where voting is compulsory also figure into the calculation.

Ranking

1. Belgium: 89.01% (Compulsory Voting)
2. Luxembourg: 82.29% (Compulsory Voting)
3. Malta: 73.00%
4. Germany: 64.78%
5. Hungary: 59.46%
6. Cyprus:58.86%
7. Denmark: 58.25%
8. Austria: 56.30%
9. Sweden: 53.39%
10. Romania: 52.40%
11. France: 51.49%
12. Ireland: 50.65%
13. Spain: 49.21%
14. Italy: 48.31%
15. Netherlands: 46.18%
16. Slovenia: 41.80%
17. Greece: 41.39% (Compulsory Voting)
18. Poland: 40.65%
19. Finland: 40.40%
20. Estonia: 37.60%
21. Portugal: 36.47%
22. Czechia: 36.45%
23. Slovakia: 34.38%
24. Latvia: 33.82%
25. Bulgaria: 33.78% (Compulsory Voting)
26. Lithuania: 28.35%

EU: 51.46%

The majority of European Union citizens have no enthusiasm for the EU institutions and don’t see the point in exercising their right to vote. Citizens of the countries of the former Eastern Bloc or Southern Europe, who were full of hope when their countries became part of the EU or later the Eurozone or the Schengen Area are clearly disappointed by the promises of improved quality of life that have not come true. Hopes of progress in the area of social rights have not materialized – quite to the contrary. Whilst it sometimes adopts a few relatively positive resolutions, citizens hold the view that the European Parliament has no real power and it is the EU Commission and the Council who make the real decisions; and the major countries like Germany and France have decisive influence there. Citizens hold the views that policies are forced on the populations by the governments of the countries who dominate the EU economically and politically and by the major private corporations, in particular big private banks and investment funds