The path to European elections (1951-1979)

The idea of electing MEPs existed since the creation of the first European institutions. However, this did not materialise in the first decades of the European Communities: national representatives in the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) were designated by the members of national parliaments, rather than being elected directly to the European assembly.

Still, it was important to ordinary people and the early European Community for the public to be democratically involved in decisions at European level. Although a 1960 draft convention for direct elections (the Dehousse report) was not approved by the Member States, citizens’ activism for elections continued. Pro-European movements campaigned for the organisation of elections at European level, with some organising mock European assemblies and votes. In the 1970s, citizens sent petitions to the European Parliament calling for greater promotion of European elections. 

In 1975, Parliament adopted a report on the organisation of direct European elections. The Patijn report, named after the Dutch MEP Schelto Patijn, who drafted it, served as the basis for Member States’ subsequent endorsement of European elections.

In 1976, Foreign Ministers of the Member States signed the European Electoral Act, agreeing to hold direct elections for the European Parliament. Elections would take place within the same period in all the countries of the European Community, though Member States were free to decide the exact voting system in their countries. 

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The European Parliament is where people from all over the European Union gather to discuss and decide on important issues that have an impact on everyone’s lives. Citizens play a crucial role in this process. Democracy starts with us, the people.