Nederlandse online Stemwijzer vindt Europese navolging (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - If you are having difficulty working out how to vote in the forthcoming European elections, a group of Bruges-based students may have the answer.

A new web site partly developed by international students from the College of Europe in Bruges shows you which political group to vote for based on your opinion on 25 European issues.

Users are asked to agree or disagree with 25 propositions. Alternatively, users may choose to express a neutral opinion or may confess that they do not know.

Examples of the propositions include: "The European Parliament should elect the President of the European Commission", "Turkey can join the EU if it complies with the criteria on human rights and democracy" and "The EU Constitution should be put to a popular vote across the EU".

After answering the questions, it allows you to select the issues you care most strongly about.

The site then cross-references your opinion to that of the seven major groups in the European parliament and recommends a vote.

It also allows you to see the answers, given by all users, to the questions you have just answered in addition to the party lines on the issues raised.

The statements have been carefully chosen to ensure maximum differentiation between the political groups. For example, statements such as the need to combat terrorism or unemployment, that all parties agree upon, are not included.

And according to information on the website, it aims to "bring voters and politics closer together by presenting party programmes in an accessible and interesting way" and to "make people reflect on the issues and stimulate discussion about European politics".

The site is based on the StemWijzer (www.stemwijzer.nl), a successful voting indication tool developed by the Dutch Centre for Political Participation (IPP).