Why the European elections don’t interest you, but they should

We carry nothing less than 38 years officially in the European Union (EU). This means that about half of the Spanish population (about 23 million) has already been born European or was small enough in 1986 to have memories other than those of life in the EU. This is why it is not very clear why we are still very little interested in the european elections, like the ones we already have on June 9 in Spain. But it has an explanation.

Or several. The truth is, Of all the electoral events we have, the European ones are the ones with the least participation. In 2019, 61% of Spaniards voted, almost 10 points more than in the EU as a whole. It is true that In 2019 we experienced an increase in participation of 8% compared to 2014 and another 18 member states noted an increase in participation.

61% of Spaniards consider that Membership in the European Union is a positive thingaccording to a study of the international organization More in Common prepared on the occasion of these European elections. Of the rest, 22% saw it as “neither positive nor negative”, and 12% saw it directly as negative.

In another study, in this case from the Polétika platform, only 33% of those surveyed were clear that they would vote. And according to the latest Eurobarometer, a 42% of Spaniards said they were not interested in these elections. But what is it that makes us so detached from the European institutions? There are several reasons.

• Physical remoteness: It seems not, but the fact that decisions are made in another country can affect the feeling of belonging to the institution. However, it is not the most important reason, since the French, who host the headquarters of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, tend to have lower participation rates than the Spanish.
• Complexity of institutions: The EU hosts several institutions and many people still confuse which tasks the Commission and European Council assume, or which parties correspond to those here in the European Parliament.
• Image of bureaucrats: The enormity of the institution and the slowness of its procedures generate the feeling that nothing is done there and that it is just bureaucracy. This disaffection is widespread but, according to the Polétika survey, 65% of the young people surveyed say they are disappointed by the political representatives. Matters like the ‘Qatargate‘, a corruption case that affected several MEPs, does not help to have a good image of politics, although the EU has subsequently tried to implement greater controls and transparency measures so that it happens again.
• The misinformation: natural reasons are joined by strong ones waves of misinformation and hoaxes that spread through social networks that come from anti-European currents. If you have received anything that EU is going to close TikTokclimate confinement, or that MEPs have approved his retirement at 50, don’t believe it, they are hoaxes.

Why should you be interested?

First of all, no matter how far away it may seem, In the European Parliament, a good part of the regulations that affect us in our daily lives are approved. 57% of the laws approved in Spain in 2022 came from European guidelines and decisions, according to a report presented in 2023 by the Director General of Communication of the European Parliament, Jaume Duch. Of 73 laws, 42 regulated aspects that respect the line marked by the institutions of the European Union. Among many others, we talk about:

• Energy policies
• Agrarian policy
• Fishing policy
• Waste and contaminated soil regulations
• Telecommunications regulations
• Equal treatment and non-discrimination
• Regulations on the game
• 5G communications security
• Protection of energy and gas consumers

Furthermore, although they are in Brussels, what we choose on June 9 are the Spanish representatives —some very youngand sensitized to the needs of young people— who will develop and approve the standards in the next five years. In fact, in two more Spanish MEPs will be elected in these elections of the 15 that are added in this legislature, so the European Parliament will have 61 representatives of Spanish parties of the 720 that will compose it.

Another of the main reasons is that not voting is putting in democracy in danger. In the face of political disaffection, if there is truly no formation that convinces, there is a blank vote. This disaffection greatly worries the European Parliament, which has made every effort on this occasion to dedicate its campaign to informing and convincing young people to vote.

Your campaign’Use your vote‘(‘Use your vote’), is focused precisely on motivating the vote. Especially among young people, such as a video in which different people, survivors of the Second World War or dictatorial regimes, remember that “democracy should never be taken for granted“, or that, if we do not vote, “others will decide” for us, as they point out in the video that you can see below these lines.

In a more, let’s say, romantic plan, voting means express our opinion and voice to the world and, although it is not mandatory, it also represents a responsibility citizen. If you have not been convinced by these arguments, but you are thinking about it, the tool that the European Parliament has put in place to receive election reminders: The EU does not want even the absent-minded to stay at home.