Voter turnout
June 7, 2009
Despite its growing influence and power across Europe, Europeans have shown little interest in the European parliament since it was established 30 years ago. The turnout rate has fallen steadily over the years - from a peak of 63 percent in 1979, to just over 45 percent five years ago.
Surveys and preliminary estimates suggest that just under half of the EU's 375 million eligible voters will make their way to polling stations this year.
More interest shown in France, Scandinavia, less in Germany
However, interior ministry reports from Paris show that more people voted in France on Sunday than in the 2004 election.
As of noon, almost 15 percent of France's 44 million eligible voters had cast their ballots, compared to 13.7 percent at the same time in 2004.
Meanwhile, in Denmark, Finland and Sweden initial reports likewise indicate a higher voter turnout than in 2004. In those elections, 48 percent of Danes, 39 percent of Finns, and 38 percents of Swedes cast their vote.
Sunday morning's turnout showed to be sluggish across Germany, the most populous state in the European Union.
In six of Germany's 16 states, where weather conditions were mostly cool and overcast, a lower turnout was recorded on Sunday morning compared with initial figures in 2004.
Especially low turnout in Eastern Europe
Polls also opened in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovenia on Sunday, while Czechs, Latvians and Slovaks finished voting on Saturday.
Slovaks and Czechs appeared to have had little interest in the European election, while a turnout of more than 50 percent was reported in Latvia. Many are saying this surge of interest was caused by a mayoral election taking place on the same day as the European Parliament vote.
In the Czech Republic, about a quarter of the country was estimated to have voted during polling on Friday and Saturday.
In Slovakia, preliminary unofficial results showed that about 20 percent of the country cast their ballot on Saturday, which would have been far more than a record low of 16.9 per cent five years ago.
Results significant for national politics
In Germany, where polls opened at 8am on Sunday, voters have a chance to elect 99 deputies to the European Parliament. Chancellor Angela Merkel urged voters leading up the election to go to the polls and make their voices heard.
Sunday's elections are viewed as a key test for Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), ahead of general elections in September.
In Italy, the vote is seen as a popularity test for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the wake of a scandal involving his ambiguous relationship with an 18-year-old woman.
In Great Britain, where citizens voted on Thursday, results have been predicted to deal a blow to Prime Minister Gordon Brown's governing Labour Party. This comes as the nation's MPs are facing an expenses scandal that shocked the country two weeks ago.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) is widely predicted to defeat the opposition Socialist Party in spite of growing social discontent and rising unemployment.
With the EU suffering from its worst recession in decades, analysts were also keeping a close eye on the performance of extremist parties on both the far left and far right of the political divide throughout Europe.
glb/dpa/Reuters/AFP
Editor: Andreas Illmer