A little while ago I had managed to grab a half hour cuppa with a previous vice chairman of the IPCC. Topics of discussion roamed far and wide but with an understandable focus on climate change. As I sat…
In Luxembourg, European elections have traditionally been held on the same day as national elections. Until 2009 all party heavyweights stood in both elections to ensure a good result for their European…
Eye of the tiger: Polish PM Donald Tusk.
EPA/Jozef Jakubco
The EU election is the Polish government’s first real strength test since it was elected in October 2011. The poll on May 25 kicks off an electoral marathon, which will culminate in the autumn of next…
It is clear from the European and local election results that there are some interesting and fairly nuanced things happening. Labour has not done as well as it expected to do – and there are a lot of people…
The EU election result will affect Matteo Renzi’s domestic reform programme.
EPA/Ian Langsdon
In Italy, as elsewhere, elections for the European parliament have always tended to be “second order”. This means that voters see them as less important than the “first-order” elections for the national…
Austria’s Socialist Party hopes to stir things up a bit in Brussels.
EPA/Hans Klaus Techt
In spite of the fact that Austria is one of the richest members of the European Union and, according to economists, has clearly profited from membership, the people of Austria traditionally show low levels…
Sinn Fein is expected to pick up seats after opposing the austerity program.
EPA/Paul McErlane
The Republic of Ireland will be voting in the European Parliament elections on Friday May 23 – on the same day as the country holds its local elections. Ireland’s representation in the European Parliament…
Always the bridesmaid. Until now?
John Stillwell/PA
Based on growing polling evidence, it is highly likely that the UK Independence Party (UKIP) will top the national poll in the European elections. Even though historically UKIP has over-performed in European…
Eurosceptics are expected to pick up support after low-key campaign from major parties.
EPA/Yoan Valat
France’s relationship with the EU appears paradoxical given the contrast between the traditional pro-EU involvement of French elites and regular expressions of reticence, such as the opposition to the…
Great, now get me another one of those hashtag things.
European Parliament
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, appears to have stolen the show in the run up to the European elections. But while he has been pilloried in the papers, discussion about him on Twitter…
Dalia Grybauskaite and Angela Merkel share a cheesy photo opportunity.
EPA/Robertas Dackus
Lithuanians will vote in the EU Parliamentary elections on the same day as the country holds its second round run-off vote in the presidential election. In the first round, which was held on May 11, the…
Unrest has forced the government to make this election a referendum on the ruling coalition.
EPA/Vassil Donev
Intense political polarisation and protests took place in Bulgaria in 2013. In February of that year, the ruling party, Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), was forced to resign and new…
New kids on the block: Croatia joined the EU last July.
EPA/Patrick Seeger
Croatia only joined the European Union in July last year, so this week will see Croatians elect MEPs for the second time in just over a year. Whether this could explain the current lack of interest in…
Edgar Savisaar, left: ‘an agent of influence for Russia’.
EPA/Valda Kalnina
In March, a new government won power in Estonia. The change of government was triggered by the decision of the prime minister, Andrus Ansip of the ruling Reform Party (RE) to step down so that he could…
No wonder Nigel’s smiling - it’s all about him!
Chris Radburn/PA Wire
The European Parliament elections are just a few days away. And yet, the overwhelming focus of election coverage in UK newspapers has not been about European issues and policy debates, but on Nigel Farage’s…
The ruling Popular Party is suffering from the effects of the economic crisis.
EPA/Alberto Martin
Very much like the rest of the European Union, two features define the European Parliament election in Spain: a lack of interest on the part of voters, and the supremacy of national issues over European…
Nationalism is no alternative: Germany prepares to vote.
EPA/Marius Becker
No country takes European Parliament elections more seriously than does Germany. Many posters have adorned lampposts around the country since mid-April and discussions in the media centre round the parties…
In a rather symbolic coincidence, the forthcoming European elections will take place one week after the Portuguese exit from the bail-out programme. A blend of austerity, recession and hopelessness defined…
Romania takes Europe very seriously.
EPA/Joerg Carstensen
Romanians take European elections very seriously. These elections affect domestic politics as they do in the UK and other Western member states, but they don’t exist in a separate bubble. In Romania, EU…
Marine Le Pen is not the force many think she is.
EPA/Yoan Valat
It is widely predicted that far-right parties will be the big winners of the 2014 European elections. Some polls have even suggested that the French Front National, the Dutch Party for Freedom, the Austrian…