On 9 June, 359 million Europeans will elect the MEPs who will represent them in the European Parliament for the next five years. In Luxembourg, 488,000 voters will cast their ballots in their municipalities on Sunday between 8am and 2pm. Remember to bring a valid identity document.
“In an increasingly complex, unstable, and interconnected world, the European Union is facing global challenges that no EU country can successfully tackle alone. Responding to these many challenges is no mean feat, and voting enables you to influence the course we take,” states the European Parliament. They also remind us that democracy is a “sum of collective efforts” and must never be taken for granted.
How important is the vote of residents in Luxembourg? What choices do they have to make? What is expected in terms of voter turnout? Here are the five major issues at stake in these elections.
A total of 720 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are being elected across the 27 EU Member States. While neighbouring Germany has the largest contingent with 96 MEPs and France elects 81 on Sunday, Luxembourg will elect six MEPs. This number is proportionate to the country’s population. Similarly, Cyprus, Estonia, and Malta will also elect six MEPs each.
MEPs address major issues such as the environment, climate change, mobility, migration, consumer rights, food safety, education, and health, impacting the daily lives of Luxembourg residents. They work in committees, draft and adopt new European laws, and oversee the activities of the European Commission. Their work takes them between Brussels, Strasbourg, and their constituencies, including Luxembourg.
Over the past five years, Luxembourg has been represented by four women and two men, a notable exception in the European Parliament. The current representatives are Isabel Wiseler-Lima and Martine Kemp from the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV), Charles Goerens from the Democratic Party (DP), Marc Angel from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), Tilly Metz from the Green Party (déi gréng), and Monica Semedo, initially elected with the DP and now representing FOKUS since February. Semedo has faced sanctions twice by the European Parliament due to accusations of bullying and harassing her staff. All six outgoing MEPs are seeking re-election.
In practical terms, voters have six votes each. If they vote for a list with at least six candidates, they cannot cast any other votes. Alternatively, they can distribute their six votes among different candidates from various lists.
For the first time, 78 candidates across 13 lists are running in the European elections in Luxembourg, the highest number to date. Except for the Luxembourg Communist Party (KPL) and the Conservatives (Déi Konservativ), all lists have an equal number of candidates.
The four parliamentary groups (CSV, DP, LSAP, and adr) and the three political factions (Green Party, Pirate Party, and Left Party) that sit in the Chamber of Deputies all present a complete list of candidates.
However, the range of political opinions in Luxembourg is broader for this election. Four other more or less well-known parties, which already participated in the legislative elections in October, are also presenting a full list: FOKUS, Volt, KPL, and the Conservatives.
Two new citizens’ movements are entering the European election battle for the first time: Zesummen – d’Bréck (“Together – the Bridge”) and Mir d’Vollek (“We the People”).
This Sunday’s European election comes just eight months after the legislative election on 8 October 2023. Although the issues and challenges differ, these elections will be another test for the participating Luxembourg political parties. The results will serve as a confirmation or a sanction for both the governing parties (CSV and DP) and the opposition parties (LSAP, Green Party, adr, Pirate Party, etc.) by the electorate.
A key question is whether the national scenario from October will be repeated in these European elections. The spotlight is on the CSV, which returned to power in October after ten years in opposition under Prime Minister Luc Frieden’s leadership.
Similarly, Xavier Bettel’s DP managed to remain in government for the third consecutive legislature. In the 2019 European elections, the CSV and DP each won two seats, with the CSV securing 21.1% of the vote and the DP 21.44%. Since then, the DP has lost ground, including the seat of Monica Semedo, who was elected with 50,890 votes. Will the DP reclaim this seat, or could the CSV win a third?
Meanwhile, the LSAP, seeking redemption after its defeat in the legislative elections, aims for a second seat in the European Parliament. In 2019, the LSAP garnered 12.2% of the vote. Another contender is the adr, which gained strength from the legislative elections, achieving five elected members for the first time. The Alternative Democratic Reform Party, which narrowly missed a seat five years ago with 10.04% of the vote, could surprise and secure a place in the European Parliament.
The Green Party, which increased its vote share by nearly 4% to 18.91% in the 2019 European elections, faces a crucial test. Their devastating defeat in October (-5 seats in the Chamber of Deputies) raises the question: will this be reflected in Sunday’s results?
Beyond the choice of candidates, one of the major issues at stake in Luxembourg’s European elections is voter turnout. As a founding country of Europe and the birthplace of Robert Schuman (the first President of the European Parliament), Luxembourg hosts several key European institutions, including the European Court of Justice, the Secretariat-General of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the Court of Auditors. The exercise of democracy in Luxembourg will be closely observed, especially during these times of crisis and growing euroscepticism, which can lead to doubts.
Traditionally, voter turnout in Luxembourg is lowest during European elections. In 2019, turnout was 50.6%, the highest rate in the last 20 years. Will the current tense situation in Luxembourg, driven by inflation and property pressures, coupled with global concerns like climate change, conflicts, and rising extremism, motivate more voters to participate this time?
The mobilisation of young people will also be a focal point. According to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, an estimated 21 million first-time voters are eligible to vote across the EU. However, a mid-May Eurobarometer survey revealed that Luxembourg’s young people are the least inclined to vote on 9 June, with only 41% intending to participate.
Luxembourg nationals are required to participate in the European elections as voting is compulsory for them, similar to their Belgian neighbours. However, this requirement does not extend to the 202,000 non-Luxembourg nationals residing in the country.
One of the major challenges for Prime Minister Luc Frieden’s pro-European CSV-DP government has been to mobilise these potential voters in a country where half the population consists of foreigners, a record within the European Union.
From January to mid-April, the Ministry of Family Affairs, the European Parliament liaison office, various municipalities, and other stakeholders launched extensive campaigns to raise awareness among non-Luxembourg nationals about their right to vote in these elections.
Ultimately, 30,605 non-Luxembourg nationals from other EU Member States registered to vote on Sunday, either for Luxembourg’s representatives or for those from their country of origin in the European Parliament. The registration rate for non-residents stands at 15.1%. While this is relatively low, it is twice as high as it was 30 years ago (7.4% in 1994).
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