Article paru en septembre 1976 dans le quotidien La Libre Belgique suite au Conseil européen de Bruxelles des 12 et 13 juillet 1976. En vue du court délai jusqu'à la date initialement prévue pour la première élection du Parlement européen au suffrage direct en mai-juin 1978, l'auteur explique les raisons des difficultés pour établir une procédure électorale uniforme dans tous les États membres ainsi que pour mettre en place les différents dispositifs électoraux.

On 20 September 1976 in Brussels, representatives of the Member States of the European Communities adopt the Act concerning the election of the representatives to the Assembly by direct universal suffrage. The Act stipulates that the term of office for Members of the European Parliament is five years (Article 3).

Article summarising the conclusions of the international seminar, organised in Berlin in November 1979 by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, on the need for a uniform electoral procedure for elections to the European Parliament. Under the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the representatives to the Assembly by direct universal suffrage, the European Parliament is tasked with drawing up a proposal for a uniform electoral procedure in accordance with the Treaties. The Act also stipulates that, pending the entry into force of a uniform procedure, the electoral procedure is to be governed in each Member State by its national provisions.

On 10 March 1982, the European Parliament submits to the Council a draft uniform electoral procedure for the election of its Members, in order for the Council to adopt it and forward it to the Member States.

In the light of the European Parliament's draft text, the Council decides upon certain provisions for a uniform electoral procedure for the election of Members of the European Parliament, recommending that these procedures be adopted by Member States in line with their respective constitutional rules.

On 22 March 1985, MEP Reinhold Bocklet proposes a resolution on a first act for the introduction of a uniform electoral procedure for the election of Members of the European Parliament.

European Parliament Resolution of 10 October 1991 on European Parliament guidelines relating to draft uniform electoral procedures for Members of the European Parliament. According to the European Parliament, electoral procedures should be harmonised across all the Member States according to common criteria relating to the electoral system, the seat distribution adjustment system, the right to vote, incompatibilities, eligibility and the grounds for ineligibility and the electoral campaign.

European Parliament Resolution of 10 June 1992 on a uniform electoral procedure applicable to European elections. The European Parliament considers it highly desirable for an objective and permanent scheme to be instituted for allocating seats, taking account of the new demographic reality in the Member States and of institutional developments in the Community.

On several occasions, the European Parliament has spoken out in favour of the introduction of a uniform electoral system for European elections.

Consolidated version of the Act of 20 September 1976, as last amended by Article 5 of the Treaty of Amsterdam.

Entschließung des Europäischen Parlaments vom 15. Juli 1998 zur Ausarbeitung eines Entwurfs für ein Wahlverfahren, das auf gemeinsamen Grundsätzen für die Wahl der Mitglieder des Europäischen Parlaments beruht.

Am 15. Juli 1998 verabschiedet das Europäische Parlament den Entwurf eines Wahlverfahrens mit den gemeinsamen Grundsätzen für die Wahl der europäischen Abgeordneten.

The electoral systems in the Member States of the European Union applicable to European elections of June 1999.

Council Decision of 25 June and 23 September 2002 amending the Act concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, signed in Brussels on 20 September 1976.

Consolidated version of the Act of 20 September 1976, as last amended by Council Decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom of 25 June and 23 September 2002.

In an article published on 26 April 2004 in the daily newspaper La Voix du Luxembourg, Philippe Poirier, a research worker at the University of Luxembourg, outlines the special features of the Luxembourg electoral system as regards the European Parliament elections. In particular, he criticises the shortcomings which prevent electors from voting for the candidates on the basis of the political group to which they will belong and of the role that they will actually play as MEPs.

In an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro on 2 June 2004, Bernard Dollez, a Senior Lecturer in Paris, analyses the differences in the 25 electoral systems for the European Parliament elections.

The electoral systems in the Member States of the European Union applicable to European elections of June 2004.

On 12 December 2006, in a bid to make it easier for EU citizens to exercise their electoral rights and to encourage them to participate in the European elections, the European Commission submits a proposal to make various amendments to Council Directive 93/109/EC.

The electoral systems in the European Union Member States applicable to the European elections of June 2009.

Report dated 28 April 2011, drawn up by the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, on the proposal for a modification of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage.

Report dated 1 February 2012, drawn up by the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, on the proposal for a modification of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage.

This video, dated 28 November 2013, explains what Members of the European Parliament do and how they are elected, and describes the electoral systems in the European Union Member States.

This study, drawn up in April 2014 for the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, sets out the European legislative framework and national provisions for the electoral procedures in the European Union Member States.