A Parliament 20% legitimate?

A German voter asks:

“Will the European Parliament still have legitimacy if less than 20% of the people vote in these elections?”

The response:

“My name is Julia De Clerck-Sachsse. I am a Research Fellow from the Centre for European Policy Studies here in Brussels. Regarding the question on low voter turnout and the legitimacy of the European Parliament, it is definitely true that the lower the turnout the less legitimacy of the Parliament. So it is definitely an important issue for the European Parliament to raise voter turnout and for the electorate as well to take up responsibility and to go vote.”

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tags: European elections, European Union