Participation in Elections to the European Parliament: from Direct to Electronic Voting

Abstract

The European Union (UE) is a unique organization, the representative organ of which – European Parliament (EP) – is chosen in universe elections. It was established in 1951 under Treaty of Paris as the General Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Com- munity. The Rome Treaties, establishing the European Economic Community and the European Community of Atomic Energy, continued the idea of a representative body by creating the Assembly of the European Communities. In 1962 the members changed the name from Assembly to European Parliament. A new name was officially recognized by the European Single Act in 1986. At the beginning, the members of the Assembly were appointed by national parliaments, since 1979 they have been elected in direct elections in accordance with the national law of the Member States. The aim of this article is to analyze EP direct elections through depicting the process of their implementation, discuss the turnout and introduce a new proposal for the electoral system such as electronic voting (e-voting).