The 2024 European Parliament election in Germany was held on 9 June 2024. It was the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit.
The election saw the CDU/CSU slightly increase its vote share, while all three parties comprising the government — the SPD, the Greens and the FDP — earned fewer votes than five years ago, with the Greens in particular suffering especially high losses. Conversely, the far-right AfD surged in both votes and seats, finishing second.
There was a stark regional disparity: The AfD won at least a plurality in all but six districts in former East Germany: Potsdam and Potsdam-Mittelmark in Brandenburg, the cities of Erfurt, Jena and Weimar as well as traditionally Catholic Eichsfeld in Thuringia. The newly formed left-populist party Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance also attracted a significant number of voters, with its support also being highest in the former East German states.
Background The 2024 European Parliament election was the first national election to be held in Germany since the 2021 federal election, in which former Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats CDU-CSU lost to the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Olaf Scholz who formed a "traffic light coalition" with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Alliance 90/The Greens. The coalition lowered the voting age for European Parliamentary Elections from 18 to 16 prior to this election.
Electoral threshold Since the 2014 European Parliament election, Germany does not have an overriding threshold of the vote share required in order for a party to win an EP seat — unlike the 5% threshold in national elections. This has allowed a number of smaller parties to gain representation, since they only have to reach about 0.5% of the vote share needed to get their first seat under the Webster/Sainte-Laguë method.
Germany is entitled to elect 96 Members of the European Parliament.
Although the European Council had recommended that countries with more than 35 MEPs should introduce a threshold between 2% and 5%, the German government abandoned its plans for a 2% threshold in November 2018. In 2022, the government decided to introduce a 2% threshold, but this will not yet apply in the 2024 election. In 2019, the de facto threshold for a seat was around 0.7% of the vote.
Outgoing delegation The table shows the detailed composition of the German seats at the European Parliament as of 12 March 2024. EP GroupSeatsPartySeatsMEPsEuropean People's PartyChristian Democratic Union 23 Christian Social Union 6 Family Party1 Greens–European Free AllianceAlliance 90/The Greens21 Ecological Democratic Party1 Volt1 Pirate Party1 Independents1 Progressive Alliance of Socialists and DemocratsSocial Democratic Party16 Renew EuropeFree Democratic Party5 Free Voters2 The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGLThe Left5 European Conservatives and ReformistsAlliance Germany1 Non-InscritsAlternative for Germany 9 Die PARTEI1 Independents2 Total96 Source: European Parliament
Parties campaigning for election
Political parties and other political associations may submit lists for the European elections. The lists must be submitted by the 83rd day before the election. Nationwide lists must be signed by 4,000 eligible voters, state lists by 1 per thousand, but not more than 2,000 eligible voters of the respective state (section 9 (5) EuWG). Parties that have been represented in the Bundestag, a regional parliament or the European Parliament with at least five members since its last election are exempt from the obligation to submit supporting signatures. These are (sorted by election results 2019): + PartyEuropean PartyGroup2019 resultTop candidateCDU/CSUEPPEPP28.9%Manfred WeberGreensEGPGreens/EFA20.5%Terry Reintke, Sergey LagodinskySPDPESS&D15.8%Katarina BarleyAfDIDID11.0%Maximilian KrahLeftPELGUE/NGL5.5%Martin Schirdewan, Carola RacketeFDPALDERenew5.4%Marie-Agnes Strack-ZimmermannFWEDPRenew2.2%Christine SingerAlliance Germany–ECR–Lars Patrick Berg The following other parties are currently represented in the European Parliament with one MEP each: + PartyEuropean PartyGroup2019 resultTop candidatePARTEI–Non-inscrits2.4%Martin Sonneborn, Sibylle BergÖDP–Greens/EFA1.0%Manuela RipaFamily PartyECPMEPP0.7%Helmut GeukingVoltVoltGreens/EFA0.7%Damian Boeselager, Nela RiehlPiratesPPEUGreens/EFA0.7%Anja Hirschel The federal lists of the following other parties and political associations were accepted: PartyEuropean Party/Organization2019 resultTop candidateNoteHuman Environment Animal Protection PartyAnimal Politics EU1.45%Sebastian EverdingMERA25DiEM250.35%Karin De Rigo, Johannes Fehr2019 as DiEM25The HomelandAPF0.27%Udo Voigtformerly the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD)Action Party for Animal Welfare–0.27%Cornelia KeiselParty for Biomedical Rejuvenation Research–0.19%Felix Werthformerly Party for Health ResearchAlliance for Innovation and JusticeFPP0.18%Haluk YildizAlliance C – Christians for GermanyECPM0.18%Karin HeepenParty of Humanists–0.17%Sascha BoelckeHuman World–0.09%Dominik LaurGerman Communist Party–0.05%Patrik KöbeleMarxist–Leninist Party of GermanyICOR0.05%Monika Gärtner-EngelSocialist Equality PartyICFI0.01%Christoph VandreierSahra Wagenknecht Alliance–did not existFabio De MasiAction Citizens for Justice–did not existLoreen BermuskeClimate List Germany–did not existVerena HofmannDemocratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakeningzeit.de, retrieved 28 January 2024.UIDdid not existFatih ZingalGrassroots Democratic Party of Germany–did not existEllèn HölzerLast Generation–did not existLina JohnsenParty of ReasonEPILdid not runDirk HesseParty of Progress–did not existLukas SieperV-Partei3–did not runSimon Klopstock
Controversies
Attacks on election campaigners In the last week of April 2024, campaign workers from the Greens, Volt and Left Party were attacked and in some cases injured while putting up posters.
On 3 May 2024, Matthias Ecke (SPD) was attacked while putting up posters for the 2024 European elections in Dresden. He suffered a fracture to his eye socket and had to undergo surgery. State security took over the investigation, as it was assumed that the attack was politically motivated. Shortly before this, a campaign worker for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen had already been attacked at the same location while putting up posters. On 5 May, a 17-year-old turned himself in and admitted to the attack on Ecke. The three other suspects were then also identified. After the incident in Dresden, the alliances "Zusammen gegen Rechts" and "Wir sind die Brandmauer Dresden" called for demonstrations in Dresden and Berlin on 5 May 2024. In Dresden, 3,000 participants gathered to show solidarity after the attack; the demonstration was held under the slogan "Violence has no place in our democracy".
On 4 May 2024, Holger Kühnlenz, an AfD member of the Lower Saxony state parliament, was pelted with eggs in Nordhorn and punched in the face. In addition, an AfD election campaign stand in Dresden was damaged.
On 5 June 2024, Heinrich Koch, an AfD local council candidate was stabbed in Mannheim when "confronting poster vandals." Another knife-related attack took place in Mannheim a few days earlier.
AfD leadership change In a May 2024 interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Maximilian Krah, up to then leader of the AfD EP election candidates and already under pressure due to his EP office assistant being suspected of spying for China, argued that not all members of the Waffen-SS should be judged as criminals, citing the example of Günter Grass, a Nobel Prize winner for literature and former member of the Waffen-SS, and added "I would never say that anyone who wore an SS uniform was automatically a criminal. Among the 900,000 SS, there were also many peasants: there was certainly a high percentage of criminals, but not only that". The interview was said to have caused a further decline in already strained relations between the AfD and the French National Rally who both sat within the Identity and Democracy group. In response to Krah's statements and allegations of Chinese influence on the AfD, members of the National Rally followed by Italy's Lega and the Danish People's Party announced they would part ways with the AfD and cease formal collaboration with the party after the 2024 European Parliament election.
After the EP election, the newly elected AfD MEPs chose René Aust as head of the AfD's delegation to the European Parliament. Maximilian Krah was not a part of the EP group. He successfully campaigned for a seat in the German parliament snap election.
Opinion polling
Federal level Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize Union Grüne SPD AfD Linke FDP PARTEI FW Tiersch. ÖDP FAM Volt PIRAT BSW Others Lead Wahlkreisprognose 1,000 30 13.5 12.5 15.5 2.5 4.5 2.5 7.5 11.5 14.5 Wahlkreisprognose 1,300 31 14.5 14.5 14 2.5 4 2 6.5 11 16.5 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 5–6 Jun 2024 1,223 30 14 14 14 3 4 3 7 13 16 Ipsos 29 May–5 Jun 2024 2,000 30 15 15 14 3 5 3 7 8 15 Wahlkreisprognose 2,000 30.5 15 13.5 15 3 4 1.5 2.5 1.5 6 7.5 15.5 INSA 30–31 May 2024 1,001 29 13 14 16 3 4 3 7 11 13 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 27–29 May 2024 1,197 30 15 14 14 4 4 6 13 15 Infratest dimap 27–29 May 2024 1,515 29 14 15 14 3 4 3 6 12 14 INSA 23–24 May 2024 1,002 30 13 14 17 3 4 3 7 9 13 Wahlkreisprognose 2,600 31 15 12.5 16 3 3.5 1.5 2.5 2 6.5 6.5 15 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 14–16 May 2024 1,247 31 15 14 15 3 4 5 13 16 INSA 10–13 May 2024 2,100 29 13 15.5 17 4 4 3 2 7 5.5 12 YouGov 3–8 May 2024 1,247 29 15 16 20 4 4 6 6 9 Infratest dimap 29–30 Apr 2024 1,323 30 15 14 15 4 7 15 15 INSA 25–26 Apr 2024 1,202 29 13 16 17 4 4 3 7 7 12 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 23–25 Apr 2024 1,228 30 17 15 15 3 3 4 13 13 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 9–11 Apr 2024 1,254 30 15 16 16 3 3 5 12 14 INSA 5–8 Apr 2024 2,100 28.5 11.5 16.5 19 4 5 3 2 6 4 9.5 Ipsos 23 Feb–02 Mar 2024 2,613 29 16 17 16 4 4 7 4 12 Forsa 12–13 Mar 2024 1,008 34 14 16 15 2 3 3 4 9 18 INSA 8–11 Mar 2024 2,100 28.5 11 16 20 4.5 6 1 2.5 2 0.5 0.5 0.5 5.5 1.5 8.5 Ipsos 23 Feb–5 Mar 2024 2,613 29 16 17 16 4 4 3 7 4 12 Wahlkreisprognose 24–29 Feb 2024 1,900 31.5 16 12 16 2 3 1.5 3.5 2.5 7.5 4.5 15.5 Stack Data Strategy 17–22 Feb 2024 980 25.5 9.8 16.5 15.1 2.7 6.0 3.2 4.1 3.1 1.3 1.2 9.3 3.4 9.0 INSA 8–12 Feb 2024 2,101 27 10.5 16 22 4.5 3 1 3.5 3 1 1 1 5.5 1.5 5 Portland 24–31 Jan 2024 555 29 13 16 17 3 5 1 3 3 0 0 1 1 6 2 12 Wahlkreisprognose 11–18 Jan 2024 1,440 28 13 9 23 3 4.5 1.5 5 1.5 7 4.5 5 Wahlkreisprognose 1–7 Dec 2023 1,440 31 12 10 25 3 3 1.5 2.5 2 7 3 6 INSA 31 Jul 2023 1,001 26 15 19 23 5 7 6 3 Wahlkreisprognose 7–14 Jul 2023 1,040 23 13.5 15 22 2.5 3.5 2 3 1.5 8.5 5.5 1 Wahlkreisprognose 15–16 Dec 2022 1,100 22 21 21 18.5 3.5 3.5 2 3.5 2.5 2.5 1 Wahlkreisprognose 24–26 Feb 2022 1,722 22 19.522.5 12.5 3 7.5 2.5 3 2 5.5 0.5 2021 federal election 26 Sep 2021 – 24.2 14.725.7 10.4 4.9 11.4 1.0 2.4 1.5 0.2 0.4 0.4 2.9 1.6 2019 European election 26 May 2019 – 28.9 20.5 15.8 11.0 5.5 5.4 2.4 2.2 1.4 1.0 0.7 0.7 0.7 3.8 8.4
Regional polls Bavaria Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize CSU Grüne SPD AfD FW FDP Linke BSW Others LeadGMS 1,018 431181610214527Infratest dimap 1,161 43138139––39 30GMS 1,002 42137171031–7 25 2023 state election 8 Oct 2023 – 37.0 14.4 8.4 14.6 15.8 3.0 1.5– 5.3 21.2 2021 federal election 26 Sep 2021 – 31.7 14.1 18.0 9.0 7.5 10.5 2.8– 6.4 13.7 2019 European election 26 May 2019 – 40.7 19.1 9.3 8.5 5.3 3.4 2.4– 11.3 21.6
Eastern Germany Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize CDU AfD Linke SPD Grüne FDP BSW Others Lead INSA 8–12 Feb 2024 – 17 32 7 12 9 2 9 12 15 2021 federal election 26 Sep 2021 – 16.8 20.5 10.4 24.1 9.2 9.5 – 9.5 3.6 2019 European election 26 May 2019 – 21.5 21.1 13.4 12.2 11.6 4.4 – 15.8 0.4
Western Germany