Netherlands (European Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
In European elections
, the Netherlands is a constituency of the
European Parliament
, currently represented by twenty-five MEPs. It covers the member state of the Netherlands
. Until 2009
, it excluded the Dutch in the Netherlands Antilles
and Aruba
.
was the first direct election to the European Parliament to be held and hence the first time the Netherlands had voted. Four parties were able to win seats: the conservative liberal VVD, the progressive liberal D66, the Christian-democratic CDA
and the social-democratic Labour Party. Five other nationally represented parties compete but are unable to win seats. 58.1% of the Dutch population turned out
on election day.
was the second European election to be held. In these elections both an alliance of leftwing CPN
, PSP
and PPR parties (Green Progressive Accord
) and the orthodox Protestant SGP, GPV, RPF
parties have formed a successful common lists, which win two respectively one seat. the progressive liberal D'66 loses its two seats and disappears from the parliament. 50.9% of the Dutch population turned out
on election day.
was the third European election to be held. In the election the conservative liberal VVD loses seats to the progressive liberal D66, which return to the European parliament after a five year absence. 47.5% of the Dutch population turned out
on election day.
was the fourth European election to be held. The liberal VVD and D66 parties and the orthodox Protestant alliance of Political Reformed Party, Reformatory Political Federation
and Reformed Political Alliance profited from the expansion of the number of seats. While the Christian Democratic Appeal
and the Labour Party lost a considerable number of votes, but remained stabile in seats. 35,7% of the Dutch citizens turned out
on election day.
was the fifth European election to be held. With only 30 percent of the population showing up, the voter turnout
hit an all-time low for Dutch elections on the national level. In the election, GreenLeft
performed particularly well quadrupling their seats from one to four, the Socialist Party
also won its first seat. These gains were made at the cost of the Christian Democratic Appeal
, Democrats 66
and the PvdA, which lost one, two and two seats respectively.
was the sixth European election and were held in the Netherlands on June 10. The ruling centre-right parties, the Christian Democratic Appeal and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
polled poorly, while the opposition Labour Party and Socialist Party gained ground. The anti-fraud party Europe Transparent
of whistle blower Paul van Buitenen unexpectedly won two seats.
to the European Parliament
in 2009 and took place on June 4, 2009. The number of Dutch seats was 25 (down from 27). Seventeen parties competed in a D'Hondt
type election. For the first time, also all Dutch residents of the Netherlands Antilles
and Aruba
were entitled to vote.
The Christen-Democratic CDA
managed to stay the biggest party in the Netherlands (5 seats), despite losing 2 seats.
Biggest winners this elections were the Party for Freedom
(+4 seats) and Democrats 66
(+2 seats)
Biggest loser was the Labour Party losing more than half their seats (-4 seats) in the European parliament.
became the biggest group in the Netherlands, after an electoral loss for the parties in European People's Party–European Democrats
and European Socialists group
.
The European Greens–European Free Alliance
lost a seat, despite GreenLeft
winning a seat. This because Europe Transparent
, which sat in the European Greens-EFA group did not take part this election. Newcomer Party for Freedom is not part of a European group and is under Non-Inscrits
. The ChristianUnion-SGP was in the Independence/Democracy group, but this group did not meet the requirements to be a group in the European Parliament and was dissolved. The ChristianUnion and SGP entered talks with the European Conservatives after the elections. The SGP was asked to chance there stance on women issues, but declined. After that the ChristianUnion joined the European Conservatives on its own. The ChristianUnion
and Reformed Political Party
split after 25 years cooperation into two group in the European parliament.
Elections in the European Union
Elections to the Parliament of the European Union take place every five years by universal adult suffrage. 736 MEPs are elected to the European Parliament which has been directly elected since 1979. No other body is directly elected although the Council of the European Union and European Council is...
, the Netherlands is a constituency of the
European Parliament constituency
Members of the European Parliament are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union , divided into constituencies....
European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, currently represented by twenty-five MEPs. It covers the member state of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Until 2009
European Parliament election, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament were held in the 27 member states of the European Union between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Members of the European Parliament were elected to represent some 500 million Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history...
, it excluded the Dutch in the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
and Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
.
Current MEPs
Dutch political parties
The 1979 European electionEuropean Parliament election, 1979
The 1979 European elections were parliamentary elections held across all 9 European Community member states. They were the first European elections to be held, allowing citizens to elect 410 MEPs to the European Parliament, and also the first international election in history.Seats in the...
was the first direct election to the European Parliament to be held and hence the first time the Netherlands had voted. Four parties were able to win seats: the conservative liberal VVD, the progressive liberal D66, the Christian-democratic CDA
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
and the social-democratic Labour Party. Five other nationally represented parties compete but are unable to win seats. 58.1% of the Dutch population turned out
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
on election day.
MEPs period 1979-1984
Below is a complete list of members of the European Parliament for the period 1979-1984 as a result of this election.Dutch political parties
The 1984 European electionEuropean Parliament election, 1984
The 1984 election to the European Parliament was the first since the inaugural election of 1979 and the 1981 enlargement of the European Community to include Greece. It was also the last before the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1987....
was the second European election to be held. In these elections both an alliance of leftwing CPN
Communist Party of the Netherlands
The Communist Party of the Netherlands was a Dutch communist political party. The CPN is one of the predecessors of the GreenLeft.- Foundation :...
, PSP
Pacifist Socialist Party
The Pacifist Socialist Party was a Dutch left-socialist political party. The PSP played a small role in Dutch politics. It is a predecessor of the GreenLeft.-Before 1957:...
and PPR parties (Green Progressive Accord
Green Progressive Accord
The Green Progressive Accord was an alliance of Dutch political parties: Political Party of Radicals , Pacifist Socialist Party , Communist Party of the Netherlands and Green Party of the Netherlands ....
) and the orthodox Protestant SGP, GPV, RPF
Reformatory Political Federation
The Reformatory Political Federation was a minor Protestant Christian political party in the Netherlands.-History:The RPF was founded in 1975 by three groups of orthodox Christians...
parties have formed a successful common lists, which win two respectively one seat. the progressive liberal D'66 loses its two seats and disappears from the parliament. 50.9% of the Dutch population turned out
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
on election day.
MEPs period 1984-1989
Below is a complete list of members of the European Parliament for the period 1984-1989 as a result of this election.Dutch political parties
The 1989 European electionEuropean Parliament election, 1989
The 1989 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Community member states in June 1989. It was third European election but the first time that Spain and Portugal voted at the same time as the other members...
was the third European election to be held. In the election the conservative liberal VVD loses seats to the progressive liberal D66, which return to the European parliament after a five year absence. 47.5% of the Dutch population turned out
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
on election day.
MEPs period 1989-1994
Below is a list of members of the European Parliament for the period 1989-1994 as a result of this election.Dutch political parties
The 1994 European electionEuropean Parliament election, 1994
The 1994 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994.This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall number of seats and a fall in overall turnout to...
was the fourth European election to be held. The liberal VVD and D66 parties and the orthodox Protestant alliance of Political Reformed Party, Reformatory Political Federation
Reformatory Political Federation
The Reformatory Political Federation was a minor Protestant Christian political party in the Netherlands.-History:The RPF was founded in 1975 by three groups of orthodox Christians...
and Reformed Political Alliance profited from the expansion of the number of seats. While the Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
and the Labour Party lost a considerable number of votes, but remained stabile in seats. 35,7% of the Dutch citizens turned out
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
on election day.
MEPs period 1994-1999
Below is a list of members of the European Parliament for the period 1994-1999 as a result of this election.Dutch political parties
The 1999 European electionEuropean Parliament election, 1999
The European Parliament Election, 1999 was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and Luxembourg, where voting is compulsory and where...
was the fifth European election to be held. With only 30 percent of the population showing up, the voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
hit an all-time low for Dutch elections on the national level. In the election, GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
performed particularly well quadrupling their seats from one to four, the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet...
also won its first seat. These gains were made at the cost of the Christian Democratic Appeal
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
, Democrats 66
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
and the PvdA, which lost one, two and two seats respectively.
MEPs period 1999-2004
Below is a list of members of the European Parliament for the period 1999-2004 as a result of this election.Dutch political parties
The 2004 European electionEuropean Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
was the sixth European election and were held in the Netherlands on June 10. The ruling centre-right parties, the Christian Democratic Appeal and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
polled poorly, while the opposition Labour Party and Socialist Party gained ground. The anti-fraud party Europe Transparent
Europe Transparent
Europe Transparent was a political party in the Netherlands. The founder of the party, Paul van Buitenen, announced the party's establishment on 8 April 2004. In the 2004 election to the European Parliament the party gained two seats, after a campaign that cost no more than €4,000...
of whistle blower Paul van Buitenen unexpectedly won two seats.
MEPs period 2004-2009
Below is a list of members of the European Parliament for the period 2004-2009 as a result of this election.Dutch political parties
The European Parliament election of 2009 in the Netherlands was the election of the delegation from the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
to the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
in 2009 and took place on June 4, 2009. The number of Dutch seats was 25 (down from 27). Seventeen parties competed in a D'Hondt
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
type election. For the first time, also all Dutch residents of the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
and Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
were entitled to vote.
The Christen-Democratic CDA
Christian Democratic Appeal
The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
managed to stay the biggest party in the Netherlands (5 seats), despite losing 2 seats.
Biggest winners this elections were the Party for Freedom
Party for Freedom
The Party for Freedom is a Dutch right-wing political party. Founded in 2005 as the successor to Geert Wilders' one-man party in the House of Representatives, it won nine seats in the 2006 general election, making it the fifth largest party in parliament, and third largest opposition party. It...
(+4 seats) and Democrats 66
Democrats 66
Democrats 66 is a progressive and social-liberal political party in the Netherlands. D66 was formed in 1966 by a group of politically unaligned, young intellectuals, led by journalist Hans van Mierlo. The party's main objective was to democratise the political system; it proposed to create an...
(+2 seats)
Biggest loser was the Labour Party losing more than half their seats (-4 seats) in the European parliament.
European groups
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EuropeAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is a transnational alliance between two European political parties: the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party. It has political groups in the European Parliament, the EU Committee of the Regions, the...
became the biggest group in the Netherlands, after an electoral loss for the parties in European People's Party–European Democrats
European People's Party–European Democrats
The Group of the European People's Party , abbreviated to EPP Group, is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament...
and European Socialists group
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
.
The European Greens–European Free Alliance
European Greens–European Free Alliance
The Greens European Free Alliance is one of the parliamentary groups in the European Parliament....
lost a seat, despite GreenLeft
GreenLeft
GreenLeft is a green political party operating in the Netherlands.GreenLeft was formed on 1 March 1989 as a merger of four left-wing political parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and the Evangelical People's Party...
winning a seat. This because Europe Transparent
Europe Transparent
Europe Transparent was a political party in the Netherlands. The founder of the party, Paul van Buitenen, announced the party's establishment on 8 April 2004. In the 2004 election to the European Parliament the party gained two seats, after a campaign that cost no more than €4,000...
, which sat in the European Greens-EFA group did not take part this election. Newcomer Party for Freedom is not part of a European group and is under Non-Inscrits
Non-Inscrits
Non-Inscrits are Members of the European Parliament who do not sit in one of the recognized political groups....
. The ChristianUnion-SGP was in the Independence/Democracy group, but this group did not meet the requirements to be a group in the European Parliament and was dissolved. The ChristianUnion and SGP entered talks with the European Conservatives after the elections. The SGP was asked to chance there stance on women issues, but declined. After that the ChristianUnion joined the European Conservatives on its own. The ChristianUnion
ChristianUnion
The ChristianUnion , abbreviated to CU, is a Dutch Christian democratic political party. A centrist party, the CU's policies combine social conservatism and soft euroscepticism with more centre-left positions on economic, immigration, and environmental issues.Founded in 2000 as a merger of the...
and Reformed Political Party
Reformed Political Party
The Reformed Political Party is an orthodox Protestant Dutch political party. The term Reformed is not a reference to political reform, but is a synonym for Calvinist. The SGP is the oldest political party in the Netherlands in its current form, and for its entire existence has been in opposition...
split after 25 years cooperation into two group in the European parliament.