1974 10th December
Direct Elections Agreement
Giscard supported the decision to move toward direct elections to the European Parliament.
European integration · permanent subject timeline
First Direct European Parliament Elections, 1979
The move from appointed delegations to directly elected European representatives. This page combines historical context with 11 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database EEC archive.
Historical context
First Direct European Parliament Elections, 1979: overview and significance
What happened?
Member states agreed arrangements for direct elections to the European Parliament, culminating in the first Community-wide elections in June 1979.
Why was it important?
Direct elections gave the European Parliament an independent democratic mandate and strengthened its role in the institutional system.
World History Database records
First Direct European Parliament Elections, 1979 timeline
The records below are selected from the 936-record EEC and European integration archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1974
1974 10th December
Direct European Elections Decision
Supports the Paris summit decision to advance direct elections to the European Parliament.
1975
1975 2nd December
Direct European Elections Decision
Supports the Rome European Council decision advancing direct universal elections to the European Parliament.
1976
1976 20th September
Direct Elections Act
Supports the act establishing direct universal elections to the European Parliament.
1976 20th September
Direct Elections Act
Heads the Irish government when member states establish direct European Parliament elections.
1976 20th September
Direct Elections Act
Heads the Italian government as the member states sign the act introducing direct European Parliament elections.
1976 20th September
Direct Elections Act
Supports the agreement enabling citizens to elect European Parliament representatives directly.
1979
1979 7th June
First Direct European Elections
Heads the government when Irish voters participate in the first direct European Parliament elections.
1979 10th June
First Direct European Elections
Serves as foreign minister when German voters participate in the first direct elections to the European Parliament.
1979 10th June
First Direct European Elections
Heads the government when Italian voters take part in the first direct elections to the European Parliament.
1979
Direct European Elections
French voters participated in the first direct elections to the European Parliament, and Simone Veil headed a successful pro-European list.
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database EEC records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
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