2004 European Parliament election

2004 European Parliament election

← 1999 10–13 June 2004 2009 →
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All 732 seats to the European Parliament 367 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	45.47%[1] 4.04 pp
Leader Hans-Gert Pöttering Martin Schulz Graham Watson Alliance EPP–ED PES ALDE Leader's seat Germany Germany South West England Last election 232 seats, 37.1% 180 seats, 28.8% 50 seats, 8.0% Seats before 295 232 67 Seats won 268 200 88 Seat change 36 20 38   Leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit Monica Frassoni Francis Wurtz Nigel Farage Jens-Peter Bonde Alliance Greens/EFA GUE/NGL IND/DEM Leader's seat Germany North-West Italy Île-de-France South East England Denmark Last election 48 seats, 7.7% 42 seats, 6.7% 16 seats, 2.6% Seats before 47 55 18 Seats won 42 41 37 Seat change 6 1 21
Post-election composition of each member state's delegation
President of the European Parliament before election Pat Cox ELDR President of the European Parliament after election Josep Borrell PES

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The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but elected national parties aggregated in European Parliamental parties after the elections.

Votes were counted as the polls closed, but results were not announced until 13 and 14 June so results from one country would not influence voters in another where polls were still open; however, the Netherlands, voting on Thursday 10, announced nearly complete provisional results as soon as they were counted, on the evening of its election day, a move heavily criticized by the European Commission.

342 million people were eligible to vote, the second-largest democratic electorate in the world after India. It was the biggest transnational direct election in history, and the 10 new member states elected MEPs for the first time. The new (6th) Parliament consisted of 732 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

Results showed a general defeat of governing parties and an increase in representatives from eurosceptic parties. No majority was achieved. The balance of power in the Parliament remained the same (largest party EPP-ED, second largest PES) despite the 10 new member states.