This study analyzes party group cohesion and patterns of defections of national party delegations from party group lines in the European Parliament (EP), using a total of 2,582 roll call votes. The study confirms previous findings according to which party groups in the EP show (surprisingly) high levels of cohesion. Nevertheless, it reveals the circumstances under which Members of the EP (MEPs) and their national delegations are more likely to defect, using the candidate selection process, the electoral system and relationships between MEPs and their home parties as explanatory variables. Assuming that MEPs have three different goals (re-election, office and policy), and want above all to secure reelection, one can expect that those MEPs whose chances of re-election are more dependent on national parties than others are more willing to vote against the party group line if a conflict between party group and national party emerges. Empirically, this is confirmed.

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For the very first time in EU history, the 2014 EP elections provided citizens with the opportunity to influence the nomination of the Commission President by casting a vote for the main Europarties' 'lead candidates'. By subjecting the position of the Commission President to an open political contest, many experts have formulated the expectation that heightened political competition would strengthen the weak electoral connection between EU citizens and EU legislators, which some consider a root cause for the EU's lack of public support. In particular, this contest was on display in the so-called 'Eurovision Debate', a televised debate between the main contenders for the Commission President broadcasted live across Europe. Drawing on a quasi-experimental study conducted in 24 EU countries, we find that debate exposure led to increased cognitive and political involvement and EU support among young citizens. Unfortunately, the debate has only reached a very small audience.