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71-733: The 2014 European Parliament election in Spain was held on Sunday, 25 May 2014, as part of the EU-wide election to elect the 8th European Parliament . All 54 seats allocated to Spain as per the Treaty of Lisbon were up for election. The People's Party (PP) emerged as the largest party overall, albeit with its worst nationwide election result in 25 years with a mere 26.1% of the share and 16 seats, losing 2.6 million votes and 8 seats from its 2009 result. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) lost 9 seats and 2.5 million votes, obtaining just 23% of

142-438: A coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call. In order to be entitled to run, parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least 15,000 registered electors; this requirement could be lifted and replaced through the signature of at least 50 elected officials— deputies , senators , MEPs or members from

213-407: A hurry. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called for "fewer rules and less fuss", while British Prime Minister David Cameron said "Europe should concentrate on what matters, on growth and jobs, and not try to do so much." Between the election and the inaugural session of the 8th European Parliament , scheduled for 1 July, some parties and individual MEPs usually switch allegiances between

284-640: A minimum threshold of six members per Member State. No Member State shall be allocated more than ninety-six seats." It had been the stated desire of the member-state governments to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon before the 2009 election, so that its articles governing the European Parliament could be in force for that election. However, this was blocked by the Irish rejection of the treaty in a referendum. Therefore, in June 2009,

355-404: A new leadership. Rubalcaba also announced his intention not to run in the primaries that would elect the party's candidate for the next general election. Several regional party leaders followed suit and announced their intention to hold regional extraordinary party congresses as well. On the other hand, People's Party (PP) leaders refused to publicly acknowledge the negative results of the party in

426-565: A party founded four months previously running on an anti-austerity platform, won an unprecedented 8.0% of the vote and 5 out of 54 seats to the European Parliament ; the best result ever scored in Spain by a newly created party in its first electoral test. The People's Party (PP) came out on top in most autonomous communities except in Andalusia , Asturias and Extremadura , where the PSOE won;

497-440: A party only 4 months old and contesting an election for the first time. Podemos's surge and the extent of PP and PSOE collapse were not foreseen by opinion polls during the campaign, which had predicted higher support for the two dominant parties and a weaker performance of Podemos. United Left 's Plural Left coalition and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) obtained some of their best historical results, with 10.0% and 6.5% of

568-589: A significant drop in support. It suffered most notably in Catalonia and the Basque Country (where it finished in third place). In Catalonia in particular, the PSOE's sister party, the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), had previously won all general and European elections held in the region—except for those of 1994 and 2011 , where it polled second just behind Convergence and Union . Other parties benefiting from

639-444: A single multi-member constituency comprising the entire national territory . The use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies. The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry , coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form

710-482: A spectacular drop in support, falling from the 60% mark it had maintained since the 2000 general election to below 40% of the vote. Also, except for the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla , it didn't surpass the 40% mark in any region, not even its strongholds of Galicia (where it polled a mere 35%), Castile and León or Castile-La Mancha (38% in both of them). The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), except for those communities where it won, experienced

781-677: Is a European political party that unites national parties from across Europe that share Christian democratic politics. The member parties are generally more socially conservative and Eurosceptic than the European People's Party, not only at this election allied with the AECR, without any candidate as well. The newly founded European Pirate Party elected MEP Amelia Andersdotter (who is running for re-election) and The Pirate Bay co-founder Peter Sunde (running for election in Finland) as its candidates for

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852-404: Is the abstract entity that has produced the laws. When there is room for interpretation , the intent of the legislator will be questioned, and the court is directed to rule in the direction it judges to best fit the legislative intent, which can be difficult in the case of conflicting laws or constitutional provisions. The local term for a legislator is usually a derivation of the local term for

923-606: The Basque Country , where the PNV prevailed; and Catalonia , where ERC scored first place for the first time in 80 years. In these last two communities the PP polled in fourth and fifth places, respectively. Significant were, however, their results in Madrid , Valencian Community and Murcia ; in the first two it polled below the 30% mark for the first time in 25 years, while in the latter it experienced

994-693: The European Parliament shall endorse or veto the appointment of the president of the European Commission on the basis of a proposal made by the European Council , taking into account the European elections (article 17, paragraph 7 of the Treaty on European Union ). This provision applied for the first time for the 2014 elections. Nevertheless, senior figures such as European Council president Herman Van Rompuy , German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former Commission president Jacques Delors questioned

1065-780: The European People's Party (EPP), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE party), the European Green Party (EGP), the Party of European Left (EL) and the European Democratic Party . On 6 and 7 March 2014, the congress of the European People's Party in Dublin elected Jean-Claude Juncker as its presidential candidate, who run against Michel Barnier , and adopted an election manifesto . Juncker set out

1136-533: The European People's Party lost ground to the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats , it remained the largest faction in the new Parliament, resulting in the EPP's nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission President at the European Council . In turn, the European Council accepted the nomination by a simple majority (only David Cameron and Viktor Orban voted against Juncker). The Council of

1207-597: The European People's Party , Martin Schulz for the Party of European Socialists , Guy Verhofstadt for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party , Ska Keller and José Bové jointly for the European Green Party and Alexis Tsipras for the Party of the European Left . The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists and the European Alliance for Freedom declined to nominate candidates. While

1278-461: The Great Recession , started several months after the last Parliament election in June 2009 . Although it affected most EU member states, the hardest-hit economies were those of southern Europe: Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, along with Ireland. Among other reasons, harsh austerity measures significantly affected the public approval of EU leadership. The percentage of Greeks approving

1349-1240: The political groups of the European Parliament . This process, which sometimes has resulted in the disappearance of whole political groups from the Parliament, or their recomposition in another form, is particularly important for new parties and MEPs. The following table describes the announced membership changes in the Parliament groupings and the impact on the Parliament makeup: [REDACTED] PNL +6 [REDACTED] Potami [REDACTED] DK [REDACTED] Child. [REDACTED] FI +2 +2 +1 +1 [REDACTED] N-VA [REDACTED] BBTs [REDACTED] VMRO [REDACTED] DF [REDACTED] PS [REDACTED] AfD [REDACTED] Famil. [REDACTED] ANEL [REDACTED] FF [REDACTED] SGP [REDACTED] Nova [REDACTED] OĽaNO +4 +1 +1 +4 +2 +7 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 [REDACTED] ANO [REDACTED] FW [REDACTED] MPT [REDACTED] Diac. [REDACTED] DeSUS [REDACTED] UPyD [REDACTED] C's Deputy (legislator) The political theory of

1420-659: The separation of powers requires legislators to be independent individuals from the members of the executive and the judiciary . Certain political systems adhere to this principle, others do not. In the United Kingdom and other countries using the Westminster system , for example, the executive is formed almost exclusively from legislators (members of the parliament), and the executive Cabinet itself has delegated legislative power. In continental European jurisprudence and legal discussion, "the legislator" ( le législateur )

1491-522: The Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) for designating its candidate for President of the European Commission is: In 2012, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE) members were said to be "struggling" to find a candidate for Commission president ahead of the 2014 European elections. Guy Verhofstadt was considered to be the likely nominee, but a meeting of

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1562-515: The EU leadership decreased from 32% in 2010 to 19% in 2013, while in Spain, the approval dwindled more than a half from 59% in 2008 to 27% in 2013. Overall, only four of the 27 members countries approved the EU leadership. Peter S. Goodman suggests that "distrust about the treaties and conventions that hold together modern Europe appear at an all-time high." "Europe's establishment parties are widely expected to suffer their worst performance" since 1979, with

1633-518: The European Commission presidency. The European Pirate Party is not recognised as a European political party . The lead candidates designated for nomination to the European Commission presidency participated in various debates, conducted in different countries and variously, in French , German and English. A total of ten debates were held through April and May in the lead up to the election period. Five debates were designed as head-to-head debates between

1704-765: The European Democratic Party decided to designate a candidate on the occasion of the next meeting in February 2014, along with its manifesto. The next president of the Commission will have to "settle a more political Commission". Allied with the Liberals in the ALDE Group but opposed to Olli Rehn, the European Democratic Party welcomed the candidature of Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE Group leader. The party adopted its manifesto on 28 February and named Guy Verhofstadt as its candidate for

1775-492: The European Parliament was elected under the rules of the Treaty of Nice , which provided for 736 seats, instead of the 751 to be provided in the Treaty of Lisbon. The Lisbon Treaty was subsequently ratified, and provisional measures were ratified in December 2011 to give the 18 additional seats, to the countries entitled to them, before the 2014 elections, without withdrawing Germany's 3 extra seats. These 18 additional MEPs brought

1846-548: The European Union decided to hold the 2014 elections in late May instead of early June as had been the case with previous EP elections. The elections were brought forward to provide more time for the election of a president of the European Commission , and because they would otherwise have coincided with the Pentecost weekend which falls during school holidays in many member states. The ongoing Eurozone crisis , an offshoot of

1917-419: The European Union won "unprecedented" victories according to some news organisations such as Reuters . Elsewhere, populist parties won significant seats. In total, roughly a quarter of all seats went to parties sceptical of the EU or protest parties. Thus, the election was seen as anti-establishment. In the wake of the election, several prominent political figures said the EU needed to realign its priorities in

1988-603: The King's abdication. Rather, the elderly monarch had taken the decision the day of his 76th birthday in January and had spoken about it with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on 31 March and with opposition leader Rubalcaba three days later, but it was not until after the election that he announced it in order not to affect the electoral process. However, abdication was not regulated under the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and thus required

2059-522: The Presidency of the European Commission on 12 March. Guy Verhofstadt was elected. The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists did not present a candidate for the European Commission presidency. They argued that participating in the process would legitimate a federalist vision of a European super-state and that the lack of a European demos makes the process illegitimate. The European Free Alliance stands for "a Europe of Free Peoples based on

2130-469: The Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy after the 2014 election, and two liberal politicians in the EU's top ranks were not expected to be considered acceptable. While a compromise position was reached (to nominate a candidate for Commission President "in time for the 2014 European Parliamentary election campaign"), the corresponding resolution was not passed due to disagreements on other points included in

2201-501: The approval of an Organic Law on the matter. PP, PSOE, UPyD, Canarian Coalition (CC), Asturias Forum (FAC) and the Navarrese People's Union (UPN) all pledged their support to the law's approval. Attention then turned to the PSOE leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba as rumours spread about him not resigning right away the day after the election to keep controlling the party so as to ensure the affirmative vote of its parliamentary group on

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2272-426: The aspiration of European political parties to link the presidency of the European Commission with the result of the European elections and insisted that the future Commission president has to suit Member States' expectations first. Based on these new provisions, the following European political parties designated candidates for Commission president ahead of the 2014 election: the Party of European Socialists (PES),

2343-421: The collapse in support for the PP and PSOE parties were United Left -led Plural Left (IP) coalition, which with a 10.0% obtained its best results nationally since 1996 , and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), whose 6.5% would remain the highest the party would win in a nationwide election before their decline throughout 2015. The Citizens party (C's) entered the European Parliament with 2 seats and 3.2% of

2414-593: The crime, wife and daughter of the police chief inspector in the nearby town of Astorga , were PP members; one of them having been previously fired from the provincial deputation presided by Carrasco. This event forced another suspension of the campaign for 24 hours by most major political parties, except for some minoritary parties—such as EH Bildu and the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)—which chose not to stop their campaigns. The tables below list opinion polling results in reverse chronological order, showing

2485-482: The crisis" from keeping the monopoly during the electoral campaign. The Council reaffirmed however that this new measure "will not hide, as European leaders and the troika hope, their authoritarianism". The Council decided to submit to the decision of the next Congress, 13 to 15 December in Madrid, the candidacy of Alexis Tsipras , who "would be the voice of resistance and hope against the ultra-liberal policies and facing

2556-496: The deaths of five people—one adult and four children—and 12 injured forced the suspension of the start of the campaign in Extremadura . On Monday 12 May, Isabel Carrasco , president of the provincial government of Leon and member of the PP , was shot dead in the street. Policial investigation concluded that the crime's motive was score-settling, since the two women arrested for committing

2627-530: The debacle in the European election and Rubalcaba's resignation seemed to have also played a key part in precipitating the King's decision. Prime Minister Rajoy said, on the day the King announced he would abdicate, that "This is the best time [for it to happen], within a short time the Prince shall be proclaimed King". 2014 European Parliament election José Manuel Barroso EPP Jean-Claude Juncker EPP The 2014 European Parliament election

2698-643: The decision that PES would designate its candidate for Commission president in December 2009, which rapidly triggered debates about how to select this candidate. The PES Congress gathering in Brussels in November 2011 made the decision that it would select the PES candidate through internal primaries in each of its member parties and organisations. Member parties and organisations are free to determine their own voting process, including by opening it to non-members. The timetable of

2769-506: The election, despite losing 40% of its 2009 vote and scoring the worst result the party has obtained in a national election since 1989 , instead opting to highlight the fact that "they had won the election". Despite this, the party had to cancel the victory celebration that was to be held in their national headquarters in Madrid due to the poor affluence of party supporters which went to the place, an evidence of worser than expected election results. Concerns arose among party regional leaders on

2840-405: The electoral law in 2011 required for Spaniards abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote ( Spanish : Voto rogado ). All seats were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation , with no electoral threshold being applied in order to be entitled to enter seat distribution. Seats were allocated to

2911-468: The idea of the King announcing his decision before the 2015 general election , when the election results could translate into PP and PSOE losing a host of seats in the Congress of Deputies , making the building of large majorities more difficult, became extended among public opinion. The fact that the future of the PSOE's position on the monarchy, as well as the future of the party itself, looked uncertain after

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2982-457: The initiative of the European Parliament and with its consent, a decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament", respecting the principle of degressive proportionality, the threshold of 6 MEPs for smaller member states and the limit of 96 MEPs for larger member states. The centre-right European People's Party won the most seats, but came up well short of a majority. In Denmark, France, and United Kingdom rightist groups opposed to

3053-482: The law. This was received with criticism from several of the party's regional federations but also from its members and the Socialist Youth, openly republican, who demanded the party ask for a referendum on the monarchy issue. Furthermore, there was speculation on the opportunity of the King abdicating at the time he did. In fact, due to the crisis of the bipartisanship self-evidenced by the European election results,

3124-598: The left of the political spectrum, and in the Brussels declaration it emphasises the protection of human rights, sustainable development and social justice. In 2007 the EFA congress in Bilbao added several progressive principles to the declaration: including a commitment to fight against racism, antisemitism, discrimination, xenophobia and islamophobia and a commitment to get full citizenship for migrants, including voting rights. The European Christian Political Movement , abbreviated to ECPM,

3195-457: The legislative assemblies of autonomous communities or from local city councils . Electors and elected officials were disallowed from signing for more than one list of candidates. Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election: The electoral campaign started at 12:00 am on 9 May. However, a traffic accident in Badajoz the previous night resulting in

3266-420: The most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on

3337-611: The most votes in this election, including parties in Austria ( Freedom Party ), Denmark ( People's Party ), France ( National Front ), the Netherlands ( Party for Freedom ), and the UK ( UKIP ). In Greece, the left-wing Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) consistently led the polling in the leadup to the election. In Italy the populist and anti-establishment Five Star Movement , according to

3408-632: The number of MEPs to 754 temporarily until 2014. These 18 "phantom MEPs" would initially have observer status, before becoming full members of the parliament if an additional protocol is ratified by 2014. Thus the 2014 election will be the first to apply the apportionment of seats provided by the Lisbon treaty. Andrew Duff MEP (ALDE, UK) tabled two reports in March 2011 and September 2012 proposing new apportionments of seats (see table opposite). Article 14 provides that "The European Council shall adopt by unanimity, on

3479-432: The outcome of the elections based on national polls. Some of the institutes below, such as Pollwatch, applied algorithms to the national poll results before aggregating them, in an attempt to account for the lower than expected results received by governing parties in previous European Parliament elections. However, other institutions did not share the expectation that governing parties would automatically perform worse than

3550-443: The perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a European Parliament election taking place. The following table lists the elected legislators: The election resulted in a massive loss of support for the two main political parties of Spain, which together fell from a combined total of 80.9% in the previous European election to a record-low 49.1% of the vote (a net total of −31.8 pp , about −16.0 each one). Podemos ,

3621-436: The polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font.    Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls    Exit poll The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences. The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a European Parliament election taking place. The table below lists opinion polling on

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3692-531: The polls suggest. Note : Percentages indicate proportion of predicted seats and not vote share. Decisions on the apportionment of seats in the Parliament are governed by article 14 of the Treaty of Lisbon . This article lays down that "The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union's citizens. They shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President. Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional , with

3763-535: The polls, was expected to be the second most popular party after the Democratic Party , with about 25% of votes. In January 2014, José Manuel Barroso , President of the European Commission, said, "We are seeing, in fact, a rise of extremism from the extreme right and from the extreme left" and suggested that the election might become "a festival of unfounded reproaches against Europe." The Lisbon Treaty , which entered into force on 1 December 2009, provides that

3834-525: The principle of subsidiarity, which believe in solidarity with each other and the peoples of the world." It consists of various national-level political parties in Europe advocating either full political independence ( statehood ), or some form of devolution or self-governance for their country or region. The alliance has generally limited its membership to progressive parties, and therefore, not all European regionalist parties are members of EFA. The EFA stands on

3905-509: The priorities he would have as president: Juncker also set out five priorities on the subject of immigration: Finally he set out three foreign policy objectives: The Common Candidate process of the Party of European Socialists was carried out according to the following timetable: Following the defeat of the Party of European Socialists during the European elections of June 2009 , the PES made

3976-458: The prospects of such electoral results being displayed at the local and regional level in the May 2015 elections, something which could potentially force the PP out from the government of party strongholds' such as Madrid and Valencia. On 26 May El País ran the headline "Harsh punishment to PP and PSOE", whilst El Mundo declared that "bipartisanship crumbles". International media focused instead on

4047-473: The relevant legislature. Typical examples include This is an incomplete list of terms for a national legislator: Some legislatures provide each legislator with an official "substitute legislator" who deputises for the legislator in the legislature if the elected representative is unavailable. Venezuela , for example, provides for substitute legislators ( diputado suplente ) to be elected under Article 186 of its 1999 constitution . Ecuador , Panama , and

4118-511: The representatives of the two leading European political parties: Jean-Claude Juncker of the European People's Party and Martin Schulz of the Party of European Socialists . Four others were open to all nominated lead candidates, while one French-language debate was held between José Bové of the European Green Party and Guy Verhofstadt of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party . No pan-European opinion polls are carried out; however, several institutes compiled predictions of

4189-582: The resolution. The ALDE political party finally decided to discuss candidates at the party's pre-summit meeting at the margins of the 19–20 December European Council. Belgian daily De Standaard and EU news website EurActiv reported during the summit that the ALDE party has appointed Mark Rutte and Christian Lindner as 'mediators' between Rehn and Verhofstadt to work out who would be the candidate. In July 2013 European Green Party (EGP) announced that it would run an open primary online. Open to all inhabitants in

4260-419: The right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a poll. The table below lists weighted voting intention estimates. Refusals are generally excluded from the party vote percentages, while question wording and the treatment of "don't know" responses and those not intending to vote may vary between polling organisations. When available, seat projections determined by

4331-454: The rise of Podemos party, with the BBC headlining that "Spain's 'we can' party proves it can" or "Spain's Podemos party challenges system", while others stated how the final election results "stunned analysts and pollsters". One week after the election, Spanish King Juan Carlos I announced his intention to abdicate in favour of his son, Felipe . Allegedly, the election results had no influence in

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4402-457: The share and 2 seats. Just as Podemos, it would grow in support in the run up to the next general election and become a major political actor by 2015. 54 members of the European Parliament were allocated to Spain as per the Treaty of Lisbon . Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage , which comprised all nationals and resident non-national European citizens over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Amendments to

4473-505: The then-ELDR party held in Dublin from 8 to 10 November 2012 did not agree to formally nominate him yet; concerns voiced included the fact that it was considered unlikely that Verhofstadt would have a chance of getting elected as President of the European Commission, as Anders Fogh Rasmussen (the incumbent Secretary General of NATO ) was expected to be appointed to the post of President of the European Council or High Representative of

4544-599: The threat of the extreme right". As Alexis Tsipras will therefore be the only candidate for the job, the Council has mandated the Presidency of the EL to consult all members and observers parties of the EL and the GUE/NGL group in the European parliament about this application. Tsipras's candidature was confirmed on 15 December. Alexis Tsipras was elected. On 2 December 2013 in Rome, the Council of

4615-404: The three mainstream parties (EPP, PES, ALDE) expected to collectively gain 63% of the vote, a 10% loss since 2009. The Economist estimated in January 2014 that "anti-EU populists of the left and right could take between 16% and 25% of the parliament's seats, up from 12% today." Euromoney predicted "anti-EU populists and nationalists" winning around 150 seats in the parliament, almost 20% of

4686-434: The total party vote and 14 seats. This would represent the party's worst election result in recent history until the 2015 general election , in which it scored a new low. Up to 8 additional political forces obtained representation. Pablo Iglesias ' newly formed Podemos party ( Spanish for "We can") turned into the election night surprise by winning 5 seats and 1,253,837 votes (7.98% of the share), an unprecedented result for

4757-415: The total. A Policy Network article from February 2014 suggested that despite the media focus on anti-EU parties, they "will undoubtedly remain modest compared to" other mainstream parties, but "their growth and their intentions to cooperate, signify important changes for the EU and European politics." In several countries, far-right and right-wing populist parties were expected to be in contention to poll

4828-486: The union over the age of 16 who "support green values", this resulted in Ska Keller and José Bové being elected candidates. Other qualified candidates were Rebecca Harms and Monica Frassoni . Meeting on 19 October 2013 in Madrid, the Council of chairpersons of the Party of the European Left (EL) decided to designate a common candidate for the president of the European Commission to prevent "the forces responsible for

4899-467: The vote and 6 and 4 seats, respectively. However, this was far from the major election breakthrough that polls had predicted throughout 2013 and in early 2014. From this point onwards both parties would lose support in opinion polls and in successive regional and local elections. The Citizens (C's) party of Albert Rivera , then marginalised as a Catalonia -only party and after several failed attempts to jump into national politics, managed to obtain 3.16% of

4970-592: The vote. The election backlash had immediate consequences on the Socialist party (PSOE), which scored its worst result ever in an election held at a nationwide scale: a bare 23.0% of the vote, compared to the already disappointing results the party had obtained in the general election of 2011 , with 28.8%. Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba , which had won the party's leadership on a 2012 party federal congress , announced his intention to resign from his post after his party holds an extraordinary federal congress on 19–20 July to elect

5041-556: Was held in the European Union (EU) between 22 and 25 May 2014. It was the 8th parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979 , and the first in which the European political parties fielded candidates for President of the Commission . The candidates, sometimes referred to by the German term Spitzenkandidaten (English: top candidates), were Jean-Claude Juncker for

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