The Implementation of the European Elections Information Programmes in the Member States

Abstract

Underlying the implementation of the European Elections Information Programmes (EEIP) was the conviction that voters’ ignorance, apathy and misconceptions had to be countered in order to make them aware of the elections; to enable them to make an informed choice; and to motivate them to vote. Turning out the vote was the most important of these since, traditionally, the EP’s quest for greater powers hinged upon its claim to democratic legitimacy: a claim difficult to sustain in the face of argument to the contrary in the event of a low turnout. The EEIPs’ style and visibility varied from member state to member state. This was due to a number of factors, including the role conceptions of the Commission’s and EP’s national offices, the briefs they gave to the advertizing agencies assisting them in implementing the EEIPs, the climate of opinion, political parties’ engagement in the campaign long before April 1979 in some countries, and the extent to which central and regional governments and European organizations, such as the European Movement, launched awareness-building programmes either alone or in co-operation with those responsible for the EEIPs. Space limitations preclude a detailed scrutiny of the EEIPs’ implementation in each member state. What follows is an outline of individual EEIPs’ key features in Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, France, Italy and Ireland. More detailed accounts of the EEIPs in the Netherlands and the FRG follow in Chapter 5.