Key take aways from Spain and Romania’s elections

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The 5th and 7th largest EU countries held key elections yesterday. Spaniards repeated once more parliamentary elections, while Romanians voted in the 1st round of presidential elections. While the topics of the electoral campaign were quite different, the overall trends in the redesign of the political party systems are similar.

The trends of fragmentation and polarization are expanding in Europe, as the political brands arising since the economic crisis are now fighting on equal footing the old, established parties. Continue Reading

Austrian thrilling elections will have far-reaching impacts on EU political developments

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After a passionate two-day scrutiny, Alexander Van Der Bellen (supported by the Greens) narrowly defeated his far-right wing opponent, Norbert Hofer (Freedom Party of Austria), therefore becoming the new Austrian President (50,3% vs 49,7%). Notably, the ecologist candidate only managed to win thanks to the postal votes counted today, whereas yesterday night the anti-EU Hofer was leading by some 144.000 votes. Continue Reading

Cypriot Elections: what impact on EU’s relations with Turkey and Russia’s influence?

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Yesterday, the Cypriot citizens living in the southern part of the island cast their vote to elect the House of Representatives, the legislative institution of Cypriot political system. The two larger parties, the centre right wing Democratic Rally (DISY-EPP) and the far left wing Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL-GUE-NGL) saw their share of votes declining, whereas smaller anti-establishment parties gained more votes (and seats). Continue Reading

How will the Austrian presidential elections influence EU’s (migration) policy and TTIP?

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Austrians will vote for a new President on April 24. The race is very tight, as the migration crisis is substantially impacting on the national political landscape. A victory of a candidate from outside the current grand-coalition would seriously undermine the governmental policies. The nationalist anti-immigration and anti-EU FPÖ is on the rise and pushes hard to be part of a future government. Continue Reading

Irish elections: a new earthquake coming? Special VoteWatch analysis

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Ireland will hold its parliamentary elections on 26 February. Although a small country, its political dynamics are important for the EU as a whole for at least two key reasons. Firstly, it is an indicator of success of the EU-stimulated economic reforms. Secondly, Ireland requires a referendum for any new EU treaty and, as seen in 2008, the result of such a referendum should not be taken for granted. Continue Reading

Amigos y rivales | Top 20 votes of the Spanish parties in the European Parliament

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(Click here for the version in Spanish)

VoteWatch Europe’s director & co-founder, Doru P. Frantescu, has revealed in an interview with the Spanish publication El Espanol that, from the ideological perspective, Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) is much closer to Ciudadanos and Partido Popular than to Podemos. The conclusion is based on the analysis of the voting records of all Spanish Members of the European Parliament. Continue Reading

La política europea marca el escenario político de cara al 20-D

Leave a comment Published in: Español, Insights, Media reports, Varia

VoteWatch Europe has been quoted by La Vanguardia

12 December 2015

Mónica Faro

Bruselas 12 dic (EFE).- El Parlamento Europeo (PE) ha sido un escenario clave para tejer la imagen política de los partidos emergentes en España, en el que ha quedado reflejada la actividad de cada diputado pero también las afinidades y divergencias entre grupos políticos que se posicionan ante las elecciones del 20-D.

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Spitzenkandidaten, EU-wide constituency and ‘europeanisations’ of elections rules for 2019, MEPs asked

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MEPs from the pro-EU groups have made a very bold move this week, asking for fundamental changes to the way the European elections are to be conducted from now on. If these are adopted, in 2019 we will witness a very different kind of European elections, much more similar to the national ones, which would enhance the legitimacy and the power of the MEPs and of the EU institutions as a whole. Continue Reading

The Polish new-old government’s priorities: build power base in Eastern Europe and enhance partnership with the US

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by Monika Golaszewska

The head of Law and Justice Party (PiS), Jaroslaw Kaczynski, and the incoming Prime Minister, Beata Szydlo, unveiled on Monday their cabinet line-up. The new government will begin its tenure on November 12.

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What future for Poland? Special VoteWatch analysis

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(click here for the version in Polish).

On 25th of October the Polish citizens will decide what future they want for their country. Their choice will undoubtedly impact the rest of Europe too: Poland is the 6th largest Member State (out of 28) and has one of the fastest growing economies on the continent. Moreover, apart from the UK, Poland is the largest non-eurozone member and holds a key geostrategic position at the EU’s border with the troubled Ukraine.

The positions that the Polish government will have in the following years on issues such as economic and political union, foreign and security policy, energy policy, environmental agenda, asylum policy and other key topics may shift the balance of power in the EU Council in one direction or the other. The upcoming Polish elections will determine which positions Poland will take on these important fields.

The infographic below shows the similarities and the differences between the views of the two leading competing parties, shaping two alternative scenarios for the future of Poland – the winner will impose its views as the “position of Warsaw” in Europe. Continue Reading