Turnout rates in European Parliament elections

Elections to the European Parliament (EP) are considered to be the most important and significant political event European citizens can participate in. However, the observed turnout rates in separate member states, as well as the average for the European Union (EU), show a general decreasing trend since the first direct elections were held in 1979. This trend has even turned into a phenomenon in political science, which still has not found its main determinant. As a consequence, the issue inspired conducting this particular quantitative research. The analysis of the institutional country-level factors across all EU countries in the 1994 – 2014 timeframe placed the emphasis not only on the most recent and socially relevant period, but on a period of considerable development for the integration process, as well. The contribution of this study is expressed by testing the validity of existing theories (the theory on Euroscepticism, the rational theory of voting and the influence of compulsory voting, namely) in the academic literature by applying two regression models for the last 5 elections and establishing the reasons behind either differences, or similarities observed. Backed with the empirical data gathered, the outcomes of the analysis confirm the influence of mandatory voting and concomitant national elections. However, they disprove the assumption that people base their decision whether or not to vote on their personal perception of the country benefitting from the EU.