Die erste allgemeine Direktwahl
Die erste allgemeine Direktwahl
In den Beneluxstaaten
"Von der Utopie zur Realität" in Le Soir (19. Mai 1979)
TextAm 19. Mai 1979 bringt der belgische sozialistische Abgeordnete Hervé Brouhon in der Tageszeitung Le Soir seine Freude über die bald stattfindenden ersten Wahlen des Europäischen Parlaments in allgemeiner Direktwahl zum Ausdruck und unterstreicht deren Bedeutung für seine Partei.
Polling station in Brussels
ImageOn 10 June 1979, polling stations set up in Brussels for the first election of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage welcome the first of the City’s voters.
Luxembourg campaign poster for the first direct elections to the European Parliament
ImageLuxembourg campaign poster for the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (10 June 1979).
Posters for the European and parliamentary elections in Luxembourg (10 June 1979)
ImageOn 10 July 1979, a display board shows campaign posters for the various Luxembourg political parties in the run-up to the European and parliamentary elections in Luxembourg.
Polling station in Luxembourg City during the European elections (10 June 1979)
ImageOn 10 June 1979, the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage are held. Some schools are used as polling stations, like here in Luxembourg City.
Pierre Werner interviewed during the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (Luxembourg, 10 June 1979)
ImageOn 10 June 1979, Pierre Werner, MP and leader of the parliamentary group of the Luxembourg Christian Social Party, answers questions from a journalist during the elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage in Luxembourg. In the background, posters published during the campaign for the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage.
Europa wählen: Fragen und Antworten (1979)
TextMit Blick auf die erste allgemeinen Direktwahlen des Europäischen Parlaments im Juni 1979 geben die luxemburgischen Büros der Kommission und des Europäischen Parlaments eine Broschüre heraus, mit der den Bürgern die Funktionsweise des Gemeinschaftsorgane erklärt wird.
In Frankreich
Cartoon by Piem on the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (9-10 June 1979)
ImageOn 9-10 June 1979, the French newspaper Le Figaro publishes a cartoon by Piem illustrating the start of the first direct elections to the European Parliament.
French poster for the first direct elections to the European Parliament
ImageFrench poster designed by Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon for the campaign preceding the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (10 June 1979).
'Setback for the Left in the European elections' from Le Monde (12 June 1979)
TextOn 12 June 1979, after the first elections to the European Parliament (EP) by direct universal suffrage, French daily newspaper Le Monde gives an overview, country by country, of the results of the ballot.
'The rigged campaign' from Le Monde (20 June 1979)
TextOn 20 June 1979, French daily newspaper Le Monde harshly criticises the campaign preceding the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage and condemns the results of the vote.
"Une autre Europe?" dans L'Europe en formation (Juillet 1979)
TextEn juillet 1979, Jean-Pierre Gouzy, l'éditorialiste de la revue fédéraliste L'Europe en formation revient sur le faible taux de participation aux premières élections européennes au suffrage universel et insiste sur les responsabilités des nouveaux élus.
Interview with Édith Cresson (Paris, 29 January 2008) — Excerpt: the campaign for the first European elections in 1979
VideoIn this interview, Édith Cresson, Member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981, describes her experience of the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage in 1979.
Interview with Jean François-Poncet (Paris, 3 July 2008) — Excerpt: opposition in France to the election of the European Parliament
VideoIn this interview, Jean François-Poncet, former French Foreign Minister, discusses the debates caused in France, in particular within part of the Parliamentary right wing, by the election of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage in 1979.
In Deutschland
Programm der SPD für die erste europäische Direktwahl (Köln, 10. Dezember 1978)
TextAm 10. Dezember 1978, dem Europa-Parteitag der SPD, verabschiedet die Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands ihr Programm für die erste Direktwahl des europäischen Parlamentes.
Cartoon by Köhler on the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (30 May 1979)
Image'Towards me!' 'Ow! Ouch! I thought we wanted a united Europe ...' The cartoonist in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung portrays the European political parties as fighting over the leadership of Europe on the occasion of the first direct elections to the European Parliament (EP).
Aufruf von Walter Scheel (6. Juni 1979)
TextIm Vorfeld der Europawahlen vom 9. Juni 1979 richtet sich der deutsche Bundespräsident Walter Scheel am 6. Juni über das Fernsehen an das deutsche Volk.
"Unbedingt zur Wahl gehen" in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (7. Juni 1979)
TextAm 7. Juni 1979, in einem Kommentar zur ersten Direktwahl des Europaparlamentes, unterstreicht die Tageszeitung Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung die Wichtigkeit der Wahlbeteiligung und deren Auswirkungen.
Cartoon by Behrendt on the first elections by universal suffrage of the European Parliament (9 June 1979)
ImageOn 9 June 1979, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung publishes a cartoon by Behrendt portraying the elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage as a historic opportunity to reunite the European peoples and to put an end to the drawn out fratricidal wars.
German poster for the first direct elections to the European Parliament
ImageGerman poster for the campaign preceding the first direct elections to the European Parliament (10 June 1979).
In Italien
Italian poster for the first direct elections to the European Parliament
ImageItalian poster for the campaign preceding the first direct elections to the European Parliament (10 June 1979).
‘The European vote’ from Affari Esteri (July 1978)
TextIn July 1978, one year before the first elections to the European Parliament by universal suffrage are held in June 1979, Franco Foschi, Junior Minister in the Italian Foreign Ministry, considers the lengthy process which led to the direct election of the Parliament.
In Großbritannien
British Labour Party pamphlet (1977)
TextIn 1977, the British Labour Party publishes a pamphlet setting out the instructions given to the party’s candidates for the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage.
'The British "green and white" paper on European elections' from Europe (4.-5. April 1977)
TextIn his editorial of 4-5 April 1977, Emanuele Gazzo, Editor-in-Chief of Agence Europe, comments on some of the proposals contained in the British white paper on the voting procedure to be applied in the United Kingdom for the first direct elections to the European Parliament.
Margaret Thatcher and Europe
ImageOn 18 May 1979, Margaret Thatcher, the newly elected British Prime Minister, announces the publication of the Conservative Party Manifesto for the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, to be held in one month’s time.
"Mehr Einfluß für England in Europa" in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (28. Mai 1979)
TextAm 28. Mai 1979 analysiert die Tageszeitung Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung die Einstellung der britischen Politiker und der Öffentlichkeit zur ersten Direktwahl des Europa- Parlament, welche einen Monat später stattfindet.
Cartoon by Gibbard on the United Kingdom and the first elections to the European Parliament by universal suffrage (8 June 1979)
ImageOn 8 June 1979, New Zealand cartoonist Leslie Gibbard takes an ironic look at the helplessness of British political leaders amid the voters’ lack of interest in the first elections to the European Parliament by universal suffrage.
Das Wahlergebnis
Political groups in the European Parliament (1979)
TableDistribution of the seats in the European Parliament according to political groups (1979).
Rates of participation in the 1979 European elections
TableTable showing the rates of participation in the European elections of June 1979 in the nine Member States of the European Communities.
Cartoon by Haitzinger on the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (June 1979)
Image‘Europa and her bull.’ In June 1979, commenting on the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, the German cartoonist, Horst Haitzinger, takes an ironic look at the ancient myth of ‘The Rape of Europa’ to illustrate the low turnout at the European elections.
Cartoon by Mussil on the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (June 1979)
ImageIn June 1979, alluding to the first elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage, the German cartoonist, Felix Mussil, speculates on the real powers of the European Parliament and on the national interests that are undermining the European integration process.
"Neunfache Nüchternheit" in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (12. Juni 1979)
TextAm 12. Juni 1979 zieht die Tageszeitung Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung eine kritische Bilanz der allgemeinen Direktwahl des europäischen Parlamentes.
Politische Zusammensetzung des Europäischen Parlaments (1979)
DiagramSchematische Darstellung der Sitzverteilung im Europäischen Parlament nach Fraktionen (1979).
Reaktionen aus Luxemburg auf die Wahl Simone Veils zur Präsidentin des Europäischen Parlaments (CLT, 18. Juli 1979)
Audio extractAm 18. Juli 1979 kommentieren die luxemburgische Europaabgeordnete Colette Flesch und der luxemburgische Innenminister Jean Wolter die Wahl Simone Veils zur Präsidentin des Europäischen Parlaments.