ment at the Paris summit on 9 and 10 December 1974 declared that a direct election to the European Parliament ‘ should be achieved as soon as possible ’, and that they expected a direct election to ‘ take place at any time in or after 1978 ’ 3 . Nearing his nineties , Monnet was convinced that the announcement heralding a new generation of elected European representatives was the perfect time to retreat permanently to his home in Houjarray , France . He died just a few months before the 1979 election , and before two European founding mothers , Louise Weiss and Simone Veil , inaugurated the first ever directly elected European Parliament .
The publication you have in your hands reviews the nine elections that have taken place since 1979 , as we look towards the 10th in 2024 . This seems a fitting juncture for the historical and sometimes personal appraisals set out by the authors in the following pages . Together , they tell a story of excitement and shared ambition . That story also serves as a wake-up call for us not to take for granted the fruits of our common European democracy , and to stay committed to our European ideals through participation .
3 . Final communiqué of the Paris Summit – 9 and 10 December 1974 . Bulletin of the European Communities , 12 , December 1974 .
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