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Much commentary on the EP elections has followed the line that the European Parliament somehow has less democratic legitimacy because the participation rate is low, and that these elections are taken less seriously because people’s trust in the EU institutions in general and the European Parliament in particular is low. Both arguments lose much of their validity if the numbers are judged in a wider context, however, especially if one compares participation rates in mid-term congressional elections in the United States.

Daniel Gros is Director at CEPS and Sonia Piedrafita is a Research Fellow at CEPS.