40th Anniversary of the 1976 Act on Direct Elections to the European Parliament

198 Pages·2015·13.18 MB·English

40th Anniversary of
the 1976 Act on
Direct Elections to the
European Parliament
A compendium of
archival material
STUDY
European Parliament History Series
EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service
Historical ArchivesUnit
October2015– PE 563.514

Historical Archives of the European Parliament

October 2015

40th Anniversary of the 1976 Act on
Direct Elections to the European Parliament
A compendium of archival material

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service
This collection was compiled by the Historical Archives Unit of the Directorate-
General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS).

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR PARLIAMENTARY RESEARCH SERVICES
HISTORICAL ARCHIVES UNIT, Historical Library
[email protected]

Cover image: European elections. © European Union, 1976 – EP

Disclaimer and Copyright
The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any
opinions expressed therein do not necessarily represent the official position of
the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial
purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the
publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy.
Manuscript completed in October 2015 Luxembourg © European Union, 2015.

PE 563.514

© European Union, 2015
Printed in Luxembourg

3
This collection was compiled by the Historical Archives Unit of the Directorate- CONTENTS
General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS).

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 5 

PART I. April — December 1974 ...................................................................... 7 

PART II. June — November 1975 ................................................................... 59 

PART III. February — Semptember 1976 .................................................... 101 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR PARLIAMENTARY RESEARCH SERVICES
HISTORICAL ARCHIVES UNIT, Historical Library
[email protected]

Cover image: European elections. © European Union, 1976 – EP

Disclaimer and Copyright
The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any
opinions expressed therein do not necessarily represent the official position of
the European Parliament. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial
purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the
publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy.
Manuscript completed in October 2015 Luxembourg © European Union, 2015.

PE 563.514

© European Union, 2015
Printed in Luxembourg

3

INTRODUCTION

Between 7 and 10 of June 1979, the first direct elections to the European
Parliament by universal suffrage were held, signalling the end of a long and
arduous effort to realize this new degree of democracy in the European
Community. Indeed, direct elections to the European Parliament had been
mandated in the Treaty of Rome, but it was only in 1973 that the task of
drafting a Convention was entrusted to Schelto Patijn.
By January 1975, the new draft Convention on direct elections was submitted
to the European Parliament which pushed for its implementation. However, in
the lead-up to and following several Council meetings during 1975 and 1976,
the European Parliament was disillusioned at the lack of Council action.
After a concerted effort by a majority of Parliament, the Council finally signed
the draft Convention into an Act on 20 September 1976. While this was seen as
a great achievement, considering the extent to which the European Parliament
had to exert political pressure, MEPs recognised that this was merely the
beginning of a continued struggle, for there remained many outstanding issues
regarding the organisation of direct elections still to be addressed.
This selection of archival material  including reports and opinions of
parliamentary committees, motions for a resolution, internal notes, and
correspondence with the President of the European Parliament  illustrates the
historical situation at the time of the preparation and signature of the Act on
Direct Elections to the EP. All documents have been retrieved from the
European Parliament's Historical Archives and cover a period from April 1974,
when Schelto Patijn put forward his first working hypotheses, to the final
debate on the election of Parliament by universal suffrage on 15 September
1976. The reader will find additional information in a parallel briefing published
by the Historical Archives in October 2015.1

1 European Parliament, Historical Archives, 40th Anniversary of the 1976 Act on Direct Elections to the
European Parliament, PE 563.513 (European Parliament History Series), 8 p. (Author: Edward Whitfield.)
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PART I.
April — December 1974
Political Affairs Committee, Direct elections to the European Parliament: some
working hypotheses. Rapporteur: Schelto Patijn, 3.4.1974, PE 36.643, ref. PE0 AP
RP/POLI.1961 A0-0368/74 0260, p. 8.

Political Affairs Committee, Draft report on the submission of a new Convention
on direct elections to the European Parliament — Part I, Draft convention.
Rapporteur: Schelto Patijn, 31.10.1974, PE 37.881/I/rev., ref. PE0 AP
RP/POLI.1961 A0-0368/74 0210, p. 15.

Political Affairs Committee, Draft report on the submission of a new Convention
on direct elections to the European Parliament — Part II. Rapporteur: Schelto
Patijn, 6.9.1974, PE 37.881/II, ref. PE0 AP RP/POLI.1961 A0-0368/74 0220, p. 23.

Political Affairs Committee, Notice to members, opinion on and amendments
to the draft Convention on the introduction of direct universal suffrage for the
election of members of the European Parliament, 31.10.1974, PE 38.737, ref. PE0
AP RP/POLI.1961 A0-0368/74 0250, p. 35.

Directorate General for Research and Documentation, David Millar, Note to
John P. S. Taylor on meetings held in Paris by Schelto Patijn on direct elections,
5.11.1974, ref. PE0 AP RP/POLI.1961 A0-0368/74 0280, p. 41.

Legal Affairs Committee, Draft revised opinion for the Political Affairs
Committee on the legal aspects of election of the members of the European
Parliament by direct universal suffrage. Draftsman: Hans Lautenschlager,
13.12.1974, PE 39.040/rev., ref. PE0 AP RP/POLI.1961 A0-0368/74 0025, p. 45.

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