Introduction

DURING THE LAST TWO DECADES THE PROCESS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION has undergone important changes. Whereas until the early 1990s the integration process was widely seen as an elite-driven project in which public opinion was largely irrelevant, today there is increasing evidence to suggest that issues relating to European integration are shifting from the realm of elite politics to that of mass politics. Major European initiatives, such as the creation of the common currency, influence the everyday lives of citizens throughout Europe. In addition, many of the major treaties sparked off popular interest through contentious referendum campaigns – to date only six out of the current 27 member states of the European Union have not (yet) held a referendum on matters relating to the European project. Consequently, it is safe to say that European issues have reached the contentious world of popular referenda and electoral politics, and that citizens are increasingly aware of the ramifications of the process (Hooghe and Marks 2008).

Against this backdrop, the debate regarding the lack of accountability and responsiveness in Europe has intensified. Journalists and scholars alike have argued that the largely pro-European elite is increasingly out of touch with their base. This became painfully evident through the rejections of the Constitutional Treaty in popular referendums in France and the Netherlands. While the integration process has motored full speed ahead, citizens throughout the European Union (EU) have become increasingly weary of the project (De Vries and Van Kersbergen 2007; Eichenberg and Dalton 2007). Although several studies demonstrate that political elites are actively monitoring their constituents (Carrubba 2001; Steenbergen et al. 2007), we witness a Europe that is divided: on average political elites have been much more in favor of European integration than their citizens (Hooghe 2003).

The lack of electoral competition on European integration has characterized European Parliament (EP) elections ever since they were introduced in 1979 (Reif and Schmitt 1980; Schmitt 2005). This chapter explores the resulting mismatch in policy preferences between voters and their representatives after the most recent EP elections, which were held in June 2009. The main questions are whether there is still limited policy congruence with respect to European integration between citizens and their representatives, and how the apparent lack of policy congruence can be explained.