On Europe Day, the European University Institute launched a new version of its renowned voting advice application, EU&I, in view of the upcoming European parliamentary (EP) elections. By providing 30 statements on contemporary issues, the tool allows citizens to find the party that best matches their political preferences.
Since 2009 the EUI interdisciplinary department, Robert Schuman Centre, has devoted extensive resources to this project ahead of EP elections rounds. This year, in collaboration with a scientific committee of scholars based at the Universities of Lausanne and Lucerne, 150 political scientists and experts on party politics - approximately five per Member State – are covering more than 250 political parties and lists running in the EP elections, looking at manifestos and other reliable sources.
The application is available in over 20 languages and users can match their preferences to parties’ positions in both their country of origin and across Europe.
“This year’s European elections are particularly important for the future of the EU”, said Lorenzo Cicchi, coordinator of the project. “It is crucial that citizens are informed on the key themes of the electoral campaign. EU&I is politically neutral and does not favour any political party or group of parties. We hope that using this tool will encourage people who are undecided or do not know enough to go to the polls”, he added.
Studies show that voting advice applications are effective instruments to enhance political participation and raise awareness among citizens regarding their electoral rights.
More information:
Website: https://euandi.eu/
Social media channels: X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram
EU&I is one of the three projects based at the EUI aiming to increase and improve EU citizens’ political participation. The second project, Spaceu2024, is a multi-lingual interactive database of electoral rights for the EP elections, providing information on how Europeans can vote in their country of residence or citizenship. The third project is an online tool, developed by Professor Simon Hix and called EuroMPmatch, based on the past voting behaviour of Members of the EP.