By Duncan Lumsden - 12th April 2004
An independent report* has forecast no great upsets in upcoming European Elections with the centre-right keeping its lion’s share of MEP seats.
The study shows that despite fears of the very different political make-up of the ten new countries joining the EU in May rocking the boat, enlargement will create little more than ripples in the power carve-up at the Strasbourg parliament.
As the institution expands to accomodate new members – from 622 seats to 732 – the centre-right group is forecast to swell from 231 to 285 MEPs, signifiying a slight gain from 37 to 39 per cent.
The socialists meanwhile are expected to experience a similar waxing in popularity, increasing their share of seats from 27 to 29.6 per cent with 217 MEPs in the new-look parliament.
*Predicting the Future: The Next European Parliament, by Professor Simon Hix of the London School of Economics and Dr. Michael Marsh Trinity College, Dublin.
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