joined the EU , and the provisions of the Schengen Agreement entered into force , guaranteeing free movement for most European citizens .
The elections were not without their effect on the shape of Parliament . Since 1979 , the Group of the Party of European Socialists ( PES ) had always been the largest group but , because of changes in the affiliations of other smaller groups , the difference in size between the Socialist group and the second-largest group , the Group of the European People ’ s Party ( EPP ), reduced between 1994 and 1999 . Then , in the 1999 elections , the EPP , with 233 Members of Parliament ( MEPs ) overtook the Socialists , whose numbers fell to 180 . This established a pattern that has continued to this day . However , these two groups continued to dominate the institution , with their combined number of seats corresponding to almost two thirds of the total . This dominance obliged the two groups to cooperate to achieve common goals , given the decision rules of the EU , but also made it difficult at times for them to make their different standpoints clear to the electorate .
What was striking about the two elections was that , despite the dramatic changes that took place in 1994 and 1999 , the level of participation in the elections did not increase . In fact , turnout declined from 56.7 % in 1994 to 49.5 % in 1999 , revealing the gap between the world of the institutions and the life of the electorate , who were not motivated to take part in the elections in greater numbers . Two factors contributed to the limited interest of European citizens in European elections . The first was the predominance of national themes in the election campaign , in other words , the inability of the European parties to persuade their affiliated national parties to adopt a European objective and vision . The second , and perhaps more important factor was that the effective alliance between the PES and EPP ( and later the Liberals ) gave the
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