Majorities do matter in the European Parliament, as its approval is needed for almost all EU legislation, for the ratification of international agreements entered into by the EU, and for choosing the President of the European Commission and the Commission as a whole.
Yes, in European elections most voters vote in function of national issues, with anti-incumbent swings the norm. In this sense, they are like local elections in most countries, where most people vote in function of their views of the national government. They also have a similar level of turnout to local elections.
But, just as local issues do creep into local elections, European issues do play a role in European elections. And parties are forced to set out their policies and priorities on European issues and to choose candidates who will be working on European issues for the following years.
Indeed, the salience of Europe-wide issues has increased with the prominence of the Green deal (and resistance to it), Ukraine, and the performance of Europe's economy when compared to others and the degree to which the single market needs to be regulated.
Sure, most issues of concern to the public are settled at national level. As you yourself say: "how high or low taxes are, how much social goods like health care, old age provision, schools, and university student fees are on offer, or laws declaring what is a crime (or abolishing a law that once, for example, made being homosexual or having an abortion a crime) – are decided by national lawmakers". But some important ones are settled mostly at European level: consumer protection rules, environmental standards, fair competition rules (including how to regulate multinational companies), many key aspects of workers' rights, data protection standards, to name the most prominent ones.
The content of legislation in these fields is shaped to a large degree in the European Parliament. Unlike national parliaments, there is no "governing majority" in the EP, dutifully voting through whatever the government proposes. Majorities have to be built point by point (and often vary from one point to another). The typical divisions are not national but political, mostly on a left-right basis. The grand bargain over many years between the moderate centre-right and the left was to enable the creation of a single market with the common rules it needs, but subject to those rules setting high standards of consumer protection, workplace rights and the environment. Thus, most EU legislation was adopted after amendment by the EP (and the Council) and a lot of bargaining, by a cross-centre majority.
That situation is challenged by the rise of the far-right. In the 2019-2024 Parliament, some key climate legislation only got through by a small majority. Von der Leyen was elected as Commission President with only 9 votes to spare. If the far-right makes further gains, that could change significantly (although there will not be a permanent right-far-right coalition, as the far-right is itself divided on many issues and is quite chaotic, see my piece here: https://encompass-europe.com/comment/the-far-right-in-the-european-parliament-fragmented-and-divided).
Majorities do matter in the European Parliament, as its approval is needed for almost all EU legislation, for the ratification of international agreements entered into by the EU, and for choosing the President of the European Commission and the Commission as a whole.
Yes, in European elections most voters vote in function of national issues, with anti-incumbent swings the norm. In this sense, they are like local elections in most countries, where most people vote in function of their views of the national government. They also have a similar level of turnout to local elections.
But, just as local issues do creep into local elections, European issues do play a role in European elections. And parties are forced to set out their policies and priorities on European issues and to choose candidates who will be working on European issues for the following years.
Indeed, the salience of Europe-wide issues has increased with the prominence of the Green deal (and resistance to it), Ukraine, and the performance of Europe's economy when compared to others and the degree to which the single market needs to be regulated.
Sure, most issues of concern to the public are settled at national level. As you yourself say: "how high or low taxes are, how much social goods like health care, old age provision, schools, and university student fees are on offer, or laws declaring what is a crime (or abolishing a law that once, for example, made being homosexual or having an abortion a crime) – are decided by national lawmakers". But some important ones are settled mostly at European level: consumer protection rules, environmental standards, fair competition rules (including how to regulate multinational companies), many key aspects of workers' rights, data protection standards, to name the most prominent ones.
The content of legislation in these fields is shaped to a large degree in the European Parliament. Unlike national parliaments, there is no "governing majority" in the EP, dutifully voting through whatever the government proposes. Majorities have to be built point by point (and often vary from one point to another). The typical divisions are not national but political, mostly on a left-right basis. The grand bargain over many years between the moderate centre-right and the left was to enable the creation of a single market with the common rules it needs, but subject to those rules setting high standards of consumer protection, workplace rights and the environment. Thus, most EU legislation was adopted after amendment by the EP (and the Council) and a lot of bargaining, by a cross-centre majority.
That situation is challenged by the rise of the far-right. In the 2019-2024 Parliament, some key climate legislation only got through by a small majority. Von der Leyen was elected as Commission President with only 9 votes to spare. If the far-right makes further gains, that could change significantly (although there will not be a permanent right-far-right coalition, as the far-right is itself divided on many issues and is quite chaotic, see my piece here: https://encompass-europe.com/comment/the-far-right-in-the-european-parliament-fragmented-and-divided).