Financial Times FT.com

Party trumps country for MEPs

By Joshua Chaffin in Brussels

Published: May 31 2009 18:21 | Last updated: May 31 2009 18:21

Members of the European parliament are far more likely to vote along party lines than they were 20 years ago, a study by VoteWatch, an independent online organisation dedicated to European Union transparency, has found.

It is common for candidates in European elections to campaign on a platform of defending their country’s interests in Brussels but the VoteWatch analysis suggests party allegiance regularly trumps national ties.

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