2019 EU elections
Initial situation, positions, topics and demands
The “2019 EU election: initial situation, positions, topics and demands” seminar gave an overview of the EU institutions, legislation and work at the European Parliament. The Austrian political groups were also presented, as well as the positions and the demands of the Freedom Party in key issues such as cutting costs, asylum, the protection of the borders and crime.
The seminar took place on 23 March 2019 in Salzburg as part of a series of seminars in the run-up to the EU election on 26 May 2019. Austria is entitled to 19 of the 705 mandates, provided Brexit takes place in a timely manner.
The European Parliament (EP) is generally described as the “most democratic” of the many EU institutions as it has been directly elected since 1979. European Parliament elections take place every five years, the next time will be on 26 May 2019. Each country organises the elections itself, and sends a certain number of MEPs based on the size of its population. The smallest countries send at least six MEPs, the largest ones up to 96. Due to Brexit, the number of seats in the European Parliament will be reduced after the upcoming elections from 751 to 705.