The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but elected national parties aggregated in European Parliamental parties after the elections. Votes were counted as the polls closed, but results were not announced until 13 and 14 June so results from one country would not influence voters in another where polls were still open; however, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, voting on Thursday 10, announced nearly complete provisional results as soon as they were counted, on the evening of its election day, a move heavily criticized by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. 342 million people were eligible to vote, the second-largest democratic electorate in the world after

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was the biggest transnational direct election in history, and the 10

new member states The largest expansion of the European Union (EU), in terms of territory, number of states, and population took place on 1 May 2004. The simultaneous accessions concerned the following countries (sometimes referred to as the "A10" countries): ...

elected MEPs for the first time. The new (6th) Parliament consisted of 732

Members of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

(MEPs). Results showed a general defeat of governing parties and an increase in representatives from

eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform ...

parties. No majority was achieved. The balance of power in the Parliament remained the same (largest party EPP-ED, second largest PES) despite the 10 new member states.

Final results

Statistics

Results by country

The national results as at 21 July 2004 are as follows: Deputeseuropeens20042009par groupeXparpays

Results by EU party (2004 estimated result)

The estimated votes by EU party are as follows: Registered voters: 353,460,958 (est.)
Votes cast: 154,317,718 (43.66%) (est.)
Total seats: 732

Results by EU party (2007 national result)

The notional results by EU party as at 8 January 2007 are as follows: Registered voters: 378,106,633 (est.)
Votes cast: 168,317,718 (44.49%) (est.)
Total seats: 785 (+53)

New parties in the 2004 election

* In the United Kingdom,

RESPECT The Unity Coalition The Respect Party was a left-wing to far-left, socialist political party active in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and nineteen ...

was established to fight this election with the intention to use it as a springboard for a campaign against

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

's government. The

English Democrats Party The English Democrats is a right-wing to far-right, English nationalist political party active in England. A minor party, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of UK government. The English Democrats were established in 2 ...

appeared in England for the first time in 5 of the 9 English Constituencies, campaigning for an

English Parliament The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

and against English 'European' regions. * A European Union-wide political party, the

European Greens The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is the European political party that represents national parties from across Europe who share Green values. The European Greens works closely with the Greens–European Free ...

, was established in Rome on 21 February 2004 to contest this election. *

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Junilistan The June List ( sv, Junilistan, jl) is a Sweden, Swedish, Eurosceptic political party. Founded in 2004, it received 14% in the 2004 European Parliament election in Sweden, European Parliament election of the same year - gaining three seats. In t ...

(the June list) formed early in the year, meant to provide

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

and right wing voters an EU sceptic alternative. * In the Netherlands Europa Transparant of

Paul van Buitenen Paul van Buitenen (; born 28 May 1957) is a retired Dutch politician of the Europe Transparent Party who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2009. He was an assistant-auditor in the European Commission's Financial Control ...

got two seats. * In

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

the ''Liste

Hans-Peter Martin Hans-Peter Martin (born 11 August 1957) is an Austrian author and journalist and former politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament between 1999 and 2014. Journalist and author Born in Bregenz, Austria, Martin graduated from the ...

'' obtained two seats.

New inclusion

Gibraltar participated as a result of the judgement in

Matthews v. United Kingdom ''Matthews v United Kingdom'' is a human rights case (18 February 1999) on the right to vote, under the European Convention on Human Rights. Gibraltarians, although EU citizens under the British Treaty of Accession, were unable to vote in electi ...

Political group reshuffle after the 2004 election

* ''Liberals:'' The

European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

created a new grouping by allying with MEPs from the French party

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy (french: Union pour la démocratie française, UDF) was a centre to centre-right political party in France. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to c ...

(previously part of the

EPP-ED The European People's Party Group (EPP Group) is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEPs ...

), the

Margherita Party (Italy) Margherita is an Italian feminine given name. It also is a surname. As a word, in Italian it means " daisy". Given name As a name, it may refer to: *Margherita Aldobrandini (1588–1646), Duchess consort of Parma *Margherita de' Medici (1612 ...

(previously part of the

), other Italian members, the Lithuanian Labour Party and the Belgian MR-MCC (previously EPP-ED). The new allies formed the EDP and a new combined group, between the ELDR and the EDP, was formed with the name ALDE: the

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE; french: Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l'Europe, ADLE) is a transnational alliance between two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Euro ...

. * ''Eurosceptics:''

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

League of Polish Families The League of Polish Families (Polish: ''Liga Polskich Rodzin'', LPR) is a conservative political party in Poland, with many far-right elements in the past. The party's original ideology was that of the National Democracy movement which was heade ...

, and the French Combats Souverainistes joined the existing

Europe of Democracies and Diversities Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) was an Eurosceptic political group with seats in the European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Togeth ...

group, which already included the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP). The group renamed itself

Independence and Democracy Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) was a Eurosceptic political group active during the 2004–2009 term of the European Parliament. The group was the successor to the Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) group. The group collapsed foll ...

(ID).

Other elections

The elections coincided with legislative elections in Luxembourg and

presidential elections in Lithuania President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. They also coincided with local and regional elections in England and Wales, Irish local elections, regional elections in Belgium, local or regional elections in most of Italy, and state parliament elections in the German state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

References

External links

European Union's site for the European Parliament election, covering all of the European Union

European Election News by European Election Law Association (Eurela)

Election days in the 25 countries

Czech Republic and the European Parliament elections 2004

Results

BBC News: EU-wide resultsPolish official resultsFull Danish official results
(pre-election prediction)

European Election information sites

* Ireland

on the election
attendance and voting recordssoftware patents
(see article

software patent A software patent is a patent on a piece of software, such as a computer program, libraries, user interface, or algorithm. Background A patent is a set of exclusionary rights granted by a state to a patent holder for a limited period of time, u ...

) an
environmental issues
(see articles green/

environmental issues Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

) collect data on how MEPs voted, in order that the electorate may have a better idea on how to vote on them. * European Election Studie
www.europeanelectionstudies.net

Candidates

Belgium

Netherlands

UK
* See German version of this article for the German and Austrian candidates {{DEFAULTSORT:European Parliament Election, 2004