Issue date: 15 Mar, 2019
40th Anniversary of European Parliament Elections
The European Parliament, like the European Commission and the European Union Council, is one of the legislative bodies making up the set of institutions governing the European Union. Together with its function of approving legislation, it is also has budgetary responsibilities and exerts democratic control over all the institutions of the Union, with decision-making power over international agreements and the entry of new members.
It directly represents the citizens of each of the 28 Member States of the European Union, who elect MEPs in universal, direct, secret ballots, through proportional representation, in numbers proportional to the population of each State.
Candidates may only be presented by the political parties of each country, which usually align themselves with parties from other States with whom they share political affinities, forming Europe-wide parties which make up the core of the parliamentary groups in the Parliament. Thus, the full breadth of the ideological spectrum of the Union is represented, from conservatives and progressives to neo-liberals, ecologists and Eurosceptics.
The first elections to the European Parliament were held in 1979, and have been held every five years since then. Spain took part for the first time in 1987, two years after joining the European Union, electing its MEPs for a term ending in 1989, when the next European elections were held. At present Spain is represented by 59 MEPs elected in a single constituency.
In 2019, elections to the European Parliament will be held from 23-26 May, and we will also be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first elections. Correos will mark the occasion with a stamp, printed in a special format including a cut-out imitating an envelope going into a ballot box.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.