impression to voters that they could not influence or change the composition of leadership in Europe . Since then , a whole series of changes – Brexit , Spitzenkandidaten ( lead candidates ), COVID-19 , climate change , the energy crisis and , last but not least , war on the borders of the EU – have been instrumental in halting the decline in turnout ; in the 2019 elections , participation increased for the first time in the history of the directly elected Parliament .
This brief article will offer an overview of the significant changes in the period between the two elections , as seen by the participants inside and outside the European Parliament . It will make use of the oral history database held at the Historical Archives of the European Union ( HAEU ) 1 in Florence . One section of the archive holds more than 100 interviews with former MEPs , many of whom were active during the period under consideration . In particular , we will draw attention to the interviews with former Presidents of Parliament , including the German MEP Klaus Hänsch and the Spanish MEP José María Gil-Robles Gil-Delgado , who were in office during the five-year period . In addition , numerous interviews were given by former Commissioners and Commission officials , which imparts a flavour of how the changing behaviour of Parliament was perceived outside the institution . We are using this material in a European University Institute ( EUI ) blog entitled ‘ The contribution of the European Parliament to the European project , as seen by the actors inside the Parliament and beyond ( 1979-2019 )’ 2 . The list of interviews used in writing this contribution and links to the audio files are provided at the end of the chapter .
1 . Historical Archives of the EU ( HAEU ) oral history database .
2 . The contribution of the European Parliament to the European project , as seen by the actors inside the Parliament and beyond ( 1979-2019 ).
101