Party Groups and Policy Positions in the European Parliament

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Party Groups and Policy Positions in the European Parliament

Gail McElroy and Kenneth Benoit

Trinity College, Dublin

10 March 2005

Abstract

As the legislative body of the European Union, the European Parliament
groups 732 elected representatives from over 170 national political parties
from 25 member states. At the EP level, these members are affiliated with
seven major party groups representing distinct policy positions. In this paper
we provide precise estimates of these policy positions based on expert
surveys in addition to characterizing the dimensionality of policy competition
in the EP. Our results suggest not only that party groups have identifiable and
differentiated positions on multiple issues of policy, but also that these
positions group broadly into two orthogonal dimensions: one consisting of
classic left-right social and economic issues, and the other related to the
powers and scope of EU institutions.

Key Words: Party Competition, Policy Positions, European Parliament, Expert Surveys.

Word Count: 6,200 without tables but including notes and bibliography

Support for this project was provided by the Institute for International Integration Studies, Trinity
College, Dublin and by the European Commission Fifth Framework (project number SERD-2002-
00061). We thank Marina McGale and Alex Baturo for research support. Author contact information:
Department of Political Science, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; e-mail [email protected] and
[email protected].

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