Post-elections update: our first analysis indicates is that the results for sure are not as bad as feared beforehand. The Greens did (much) better than expected thanks to strong showings in France and Germany and can expect to hold around 70 seats and also have a kingmaker role. Stay tuned to read our full analysis once the names of the new MEPs will be published.

As the European populace is voting for their representatives in the new European Parliament later this week, we are extremely pleased to see strong cross-party support for cycling as the future of transport among the next generation of elected officials. This is the key result of the ECF European Parliament 2019 election campaign coordinated with our members over the last few weeks.

In 25 out of 28 Member States, candidates to become MEPs have been asked to complete a survey of their views on five of the most pressing issues for Europe’s cyclists. Candidates were also asked to sign the Cycling for All pledge, signing up to be champions for cycling in the next parliament.

“I pledge to support the cause of cycling during the 2019 - 2024 European Parliamentary term, with the objective of increasing the number of people cycling, promoting cycle-tourism and improving road conditions for people cycling, in terms of safety, infrastructure, accessibility and user experience."

All in all, 469 candidates completed the survey, 30 % more than in our 2014 campaign. In addition, a huge 404 candidates signed the pledge; committing themselves to supporting the cause of cycling in the next European Parliament.

Overall Score of the Political Groups – The ECF Cycling Thermometer

It may not come as a surprise that MEP candidates from the Green Party are among the staunchest supporters of cycling. However, on the ECF European Parliament Elections Thermometer, which places Europe’s political groups according to their candidates answers to our survey questions and how many candidates from each group signed the Cycling for All pledge; the Greens are closely followed on their heels by GUE/NGL (Group of United Left/ Nordic Green Left), S&D (Socialists & Democrats and ALDE (Liberals). We are happy to see that support for cycling will also come from the centre-right political groups EPP (European People’s Party) and ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists). To score political groups, an average was taken of candidates answers to the survey per party and then additional points were awarded dependent on how many candidates from each party signed the pledge.

As you can see below, The Greens (102) were in the lead for the number of candidates to sign pledges, closely followed by ALDE (77) and GUE/NGL (51), with S&D (40) and EPP (39) in the middle and ECR (11) bringing up the rear. We take from this result that politicians from all parties are willing to support cycling. Clearly ECF’s advocacy on the benefits on cycling for Europe is hitting home, which gives us hope for big things from the next European Parliament.

Looking at responses to questions on specific policy issues, ECF asked candidates about 5 issues:

1. To what extent do you support EU targets for cycling modal shift? (Modal shift is more people cycling more often, choosing to cycle rather use other forms of transport)
2. To what extent should Intelligent Speed Assist be deployed in vehicles? (ISA is a technology already installed in many high-end vehicles that helps drivers stay below the speed limit. It could reduce road deaths by up to 46 % per year, dependent on the type of ISA mandated)
3. How much money should the EU invest in cycling?
4. Should the EU have quality standards/guidelines for cycling infrastructure?
5. Should electrically assisted bicycle users be required to have motor vehicle insurance?

The average response was very good; specifically (excluding don’t knows):

1. 79% of candidates supported either 100% or 50% EU target of growing cycle use by 2030.
2. 81% supported mandating a universal deployment of intervening ISA systems in new motor vehicles.
3. 39% of candidates supported the EU investing 10% of its transport budget on cycling projects and 92% supported at least a 3% commitment, (currently only 1.5% of EU transport investment is in cycling projects)
4. 59% of candidates supported obligatory quality guidelines for all new cycling infrastructure union wide, whilst a total of 81% supported guidelines should these be restricted to just EU funded transport projects.
5. 79% of candidates were against requiring electrically assisted bicycle users to have motor vehicle insurance.

On a per country basis there were of course variations. Below you can see how many candidates signed the pledge from from each country, taking into account that some countries have more seats in the European parliament than others. The top three by this calculation were Croatia, Denmark and Estonia, although runners up were Portugal, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Malta and Lithuania.

Lastly, hitting the depths of the data, there were futher deviations by party in each country. To make this as quick and easy to understand as possible, we have colour coded the following table, where you can see which parties are the most pro-cycling in your country based on their signed pledges. Again, these colours alos take into account the number of parliamentary seats available per country.

Inspired by these results? Want to get involved?

• Post a short (10 second) video message on social media, with you completing the sentence ‘I support cycling because….’. Don’t forget to tag ECF (@EUCyclistsFed), and use the hash tag #CyclingFor2020s, you can also tag your ‘favourite’ politicians too!
• Print this PDF, take a photo of yourself with it and your bike and post it! Again, tag us, use the hashtag, and tag some others!
• Take a look at our Manifesto, Getting into Gear: Cycling for the 2020s, and the ideas with the world!

For complete results of the ECF European Parliament campaign and methodology of the ECF Cycling Thermometer, download this file.