Elections to the European Parliament and national parties’ manifestos: exploratory study of Spain (1987-2019)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.2368
Keywords: European elections, European Parliament, Spain, political parties, policy preferences on EU issues

Abstract

After two elections to the European Parliament hold, in 2014 and 2019, once the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, in December 2009, it is time to make some progress on the examination of the role of the national parties, the Europarties and the political groups in the European Parliament regarding the shaping of preferences on EU issues and their translation into policy outputs at the supranational level of the political system of the EU through the Parliament. This piece of work shares data delivered by an exploratory study on Spain, which analysed 68 manifestos issued by parties and coalitions that achieved representation from 1987 to 2019 in the only EU institution that is directly elected by all citizens. The extent of these texts as well as the references contained within them to the Europarties, their candidates for President of the European Commission (Spitzenkadidaten) —from 2014 onwards— and the political groups in the European Parliament are examined. The preliminary study on Spain let us know this case concerning the abovementioned variables, make some observations on the European elections as a chain of delegation that is increasingly relevant due to the empowerment of the Parliament within the EU institutional setting, and formulate hypotheses for comparative research projects that embrace various Member States.

Received: 06 September 2021
Accepted: 25 February 2022

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Author Biographies

Cristina Ares Castro-Conde, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Associate Professor of European Studies and Comparative Politics at the University of Santiago de Compostela. She holds a PhD in Political Science and Public Administration and a diploma in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges. She has completed her training at other academic institutions such as the WZB Berlin Social Science Center, the Hertie School (Jacques Delors Centre) and the Center for the Study of Europe at Boston University. Her research activity is focused on diverse themes in the field of EU politics and policies, along with the programmatic supply of parties and its translation into policy outputs, among other agendas.

Alicia Mangana Ríos, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain

PhD student at the University of Santiago de Compostela. Her research interest deals with the role of political parties and parliamentarians in EU policy processes concerning various issues, such as territorial development. She has stayed at the Salzburg Centre of European Union Studies (SCEUS) at Paris Lodron University of Salzburg for three months under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ariadna Ripoll Servent.

Published
2022-05-23
How to Cite
Ares Castro-Conde, Cristina, and Alicia Mangana Ríos. 2022. “Elections to the European Parliament and National parties’ Manifestos: Exploratory Study of Spain (1987-2019)”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 66 (May), 63-99. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.2368.
Issue
No. 66 (2022)
Section
Articles

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