MEPs in the context of "1979 European Parliament election"

⭐ In the context of the 1979 European Parliament election, MEPs were newly established as what type of representative within the European Community?

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⭐ Core Definition: MEPs

A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.

When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community) first met in 1952, its members were directly appointed by the governments of member states from among those already sitting in their own national parliaments. Since 1979, however, MEPs have been elected by direct universal suffrage every five years. Each member state establishes its own method for electing MEPs – and in some states this has changed over time – but the system chosen must be a form of proportional representation. Some member states elect their MEPs to represent a single national constituency; other states apportion seats to sub-national regions for election.

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👉 MEPs in the context of 1979 European Parliament election

The 1979 European Parliament election was a series of parliamentary elections held across all 9 (at the time) 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 Parliament had been allocated to the states according to population, and in some cases were divided into constituencies, but members sat according to political groups.

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In this Dossier

MEPs in the context of Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group

The Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE Group) was the liberalcentrist political group of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2019 when it merged into Renew Europe.

ALDE was made up of MEPs from two European political parties, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party and the European Democratic Party, which collectively form the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

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MEPs in the context of European Democrats

The European Democratic Group, more commonly known as European Democrats, was a conservative political group that operated in the European Parliament between 1979 and 1992. At its height in July 1979, it had 63 MEPs.

Ideologically, ED was more Eurosceptic and right-wing than its centre-right rival European People's Party (EPP). Its members included parties such as the UK Conservative Party of Margaret Thatcher, Danish Conservative People's Party, and Spanish People's Alliance. In 1992, ED became a subgroup of EPP, now the European People's Party–European Democrats. ED split from EPP in 2009 to re-create the group as the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists.

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MEPs in the context of Union for Europe of the Nations

Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) was a national-conservative, Eurosceptic political group that operated in the European Parliament between 1999 and 2009. At its height in February 2008, it had 44 MEPs. UEN was affiliated with the Alliance for Europe of the Nations political party.

UEN was formed as the successor of the Union for Europe group. Its members were parties such as the Rally for France, Italian National Alliance and Lega Nord, Irish Fianna Fáil, and Polish Law and Justice. After the 2009 European Parliament election, UEN was dissolved due to its member parties opting to switch to other groups.

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MEPs in the context of Europe of Nations and Freedom

Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF; French: Europe des nations et des libertés, ENL) was a far-right political group that operated in the European Parliament between 2015 and 2019. It was composed of 37 MEPs and only existed during the European Parliament's 8th term. Most of its MPs were members of the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom political party.

Ideologically, ENF was right-wing populist and Eurosceptic. Its members included far-right parties such as French National Front (known as National Rally after 2018), Italian Lega Nord, Dutch Party for Freedom, and Vlaams Belang. After the 2019 European Parliament election, ENF was transformed into the Identity and Democracy group.

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