ABSTRACT
Direct elections were the culminating event of the fourth historical phase of transnational activity in the 1970s and the results offer some basis for its further development in 1980s. The main relevance of the 1979 direct elections for the present purpose lies in a number of specific features based on the results themselves, and for this reason this chapter concentrates on providing some comparative data. The main such feature which arose after direct elections was that of majorities in the European Parliament (EP) as a result of the voting. The main differences in the strengths of individual groups were the rise in representation for the Conservatives essentially as a result of the British vote and especially electoral system, the decline of the Progressive Democrats (DEP). The most significant feature of national subgroup influences in the Euro-parliamentary groups is the increased proportional representation of West German MEPs in the two largest ones, the Socialists and the Christian Democrats.
