FAQ's on Parliament's election campaign

Europos Parlamentas
From Barcelona to Bucharest, Stockholm to Sofia, people across Europe will be electing 736 Members of the European Parliament at the polls from 4-7 June. Ahead of the election, an information campaign organised by Parliament has endeavoured to raise people's awareness of its role and urged them to vote using the slogan “It's your choice!” We have received many questions about the elections, including queries about just who the candidates are, and you can find the responses here.

Where can I find a list of candidates?
 
See the first link below for a full list of candidates.
 
Is the Parliament doing anything to urge people to vote and why?
 
Yes, because over the past decades parliament's power and influence have increased and the 2009 election - the 7th in 30 years - gives people across Europe the opportunity to shape politics for the next five years.
 
What? Parliament's campaign aims to raise awareness about the work MEPs do. It is non-political and based around the slogan of “It's your choice!”, in an attempt to get people to out and vote when their country goes to the polls sometime between 4-7 June.  A variety of ways and means are being used to get people thinking about key issues.
 
Give me examples!
 
  • Posters across Europe based on 10 themes; security, energy, fuel and climate change, food and agriculture, borders and migration, standardisation, consumer protection, budget, equal opportunities and financial markets.
 
  • Choice boxes in various cities where people can go to record a message highlighting the issues they want the EU to deal with.
 
  • TV and radio ads.
 
  • The Parliament's election website site in 22 languages tackles the issues.
 
  • Something a bit different - the parliament on sites like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Flickr.
 
  • Press kits for Europe's media explaining the work of the Parliament.
 
  • EuroparlTV will have extensive coverage of the election including an election night special.
 
How much does the campaign cost and how is it financed?
 
The campaign is spread over the 27 countries of the European Union covering all 23 official languages used by those countries. The cost is around €18 million or €0,05 per eligible voter in the EU - there are about 375 million potential voters. The money comes from the 2008 and 2009 budget of the European Parliament which is a part of the Union's overall budget. The precise amount spent per country varies although a country where voter turnout was low previously or is predicted to be low for 2009 have been specifically targeted.