Lithuania

ENThis chapter explores the main trends of the European Parliament (EP) elections in Lithuania since its entry to the EU in 2004. The focus lies on the most recent poll in 2019. Despite the Eurosceptic actors gradually becoming more vocal, European issues have largely remained out of direct party competition. As previously, the Eurosceptic candidates performed badly in 2019. Moreover, the main contestants adopted even more pro-European manifestos than before. Two factors are singled out to account for such firm allegiance to the EU in the country. Firstly, both parties and voters largely treat European integration as an essential security guarantee in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment. Secondly, the main parties across the political spectrum underwent structural and generational changes that also strengthened their pro-European character, while relevant Eurosceptic forces failed to overcome their fragmentation and marginalization. Keywords: Euroscepticism; Lithuania; European Parliament elections. [Publisher annotation]

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