The answer is India, which had a general election in May. The number of eligible voters is well over 700 million.

Can you name the second largest democracy in the world?

The answer is the European Union, in which elections for the European Parliament were conducted earlier this month. The number of eligible voters was about 375 million.

People might wonder why EU citizens need to conduct a parliamentary election on a scale that covers most of Europe when each country has its own democratic political system.

However, in member states, legislative power is essentially shared between the EU and member states. About 25 percent of the laws in member countries now derive from the EU. In such a situation, there is a necessity for the EU to reflect the will of the people.

For 30 years, members of the European Parliament have been elected directly by citizens. During this period, the parliament's power has been strengthened on several occasions. In the past, the parliament had only a symbolic meaning, but now about half of the EU budget and a large majority of the EU's legislation needs to be approved by the European Parliament.

The parliament represents the EU's grand experiment in establishing a multi-level democracy by creating a multilateral political institution of member countries--apart from national politics--that is controlled in a democratic manner.

At the same time, however, the European Parliament faces many problems. The elections for the parliament are sardonically referred to as a "second-tier general election," and people pay little attention to the parliament from which they feel distant. While the parliament's power has been strengthened, the voter turnout in the elections has dropped, paving the way for right-wing extremists to extend their influence due to their strong mobilization of votes in the elections.

In addition, elections are often dominated by issues centered on domestic policies and politicians--which the EU itself has no authority over--rather than issues related to the entire EU.

I believe these tendencies will be very apparent in the results of the European Parliament elections held earlier this month. (The results were yet to be announced when I submitted this essay.)

However, in some sense, it is unavoidable for the European Parliament to face such problems. The parliaments and political parties of member countries have their own long histories, with each member nation having its own identity.

The European Parliament is like an artificial heart that has been implanted. It needs much more time for the entity to function naturally.

It seems that the parliament is conspicuous chiefly for its problems. However, we cannot underestimate the fact that the citizens of the member countries enjoy their opportunities to directly express their opinions on issues that go beyond borders. Consider, for instance, how much Japanese would appreciate a means apart from diplomatic channels to express their opinions on issues such as harmful food, acid rain or missiles launched overseas toward Japan?

Europe tries to solve problems arising within the region by itself, in a peaceful way, while making efforts to understand the will of its people. People are no longer surprised to see Italian and German politicians undergo their baptism of fire via an election in France. There are cases in which the whole of Europe, including the European Parliament, discuss the formation of the cabinet in Austria or the budget of Ireland. Sometimes they protest over certain issues and even impose penalties.

In the past, there was only one way to work with issues that go beyond borders--diplomacy between countries. All such activities were lumped together under the category of international relations. Citizens of Europe now have the opportunity to add their voice to that dicussion.

If you listen carefully, you will hear not only the voices of the citizens in the European Union, but the pulse of a new freedom.

*Endo, an expert in international politics, is a professor at Hokkaido University and a fellow of the European University Institute. He lives in Italy.