Dr. Sonia Piedrafita:

Regarding the issue of the European elections, so far there is a great deal of interest in making these European elections different because people are concerned about the low voter turnout typical in European elections, but we should be concerned about making them too different. Recent national contests are signalling that radical parties with their rather anti-European discourse are winning votes and seats in national elections. If that happens in the European elections also, with many people unhappy because of the austerity measures, or the bailouts in the rich countries, the electoral systems in member states are rather proportional and therefore it would be very easy for those bodies to get representation in the European Parliament, perhaps easier than in the national elections. If that happens, that would pose a risk in terms of decision-making in the European Parliament, with high representation from parties that are not that European or pro-integration. Sometimes they are not that democratic or they do not defend democratic principles. That is a risk, and I do not believe we are aware of that risk or perhaps we are turning a blind eye to it when it is an issue that should worry us more than it does at present.