European elections: main issues and positions based on party manifestos

DEN HAAG (PDC) - What are the issues that will be promoted by the political parties? Are there important issues that can be regarded as the main issues that will play a role in these elections?

A content analysis of the party manifestos of the political parties running for the 2014 elections by the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.

The main findings are:

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  The main issues of these elections are concentrated in the area of social policy, environment, democracy, external policy and the internal market;

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  On social policy left-wing parties emphasize the social rights of workers while more centrist parties underline the importance of combating discrimination;

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  On the environment the Greens emphasize the importance of an sustainable, resource efficient energy supply, while the conservative parties propose energy securing by using more nuclear energy;

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  On external policy, left-wing parties support further cooperation with Turkey, while liberal parties propose to combine diplomacy with ‘hard power’ when needed;

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  On the internal market the divide left-wing parties underline the importance of maintaining a social Europe, while liberal parties underscore the importance of the free movement of goods and services, while emphasizing the importance of compliance with internal market legislation.

The research note will be presented at the European Election debate on April 24th in The Hague.

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