How parties justified the 2014 EP election debate. A comparative analysis in six EU countries

On the role of parties as important channels for people to voice their preferences there is a sound consensus in the literature. Traditional socio-economic concerns have been more and more displaced by culturally fought issues such as immigration and European integration. Scholarly works, however, have paid less attention how, if at all, parties combine different cultural issues. The primary aim of the analysis is to investigate if and under which conditions parties link immigration and European integration issues to address the growing discontent in the population with these issues. Our expectation is that parties endorse different strategies depending on the party competition, in particular the presence of a populist challenger. The analysis is based on a quantitative content analysis of press releases and newspapers articles published in the 12 weeks preceding the 2014 EP election in five European countries (Austria, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom).

87Sr/86Sr ratios, Sr and Rb concentrations and stable oxygen isotope values for some basalts from ODP Hole 504B (Table 1)

Seventeen whole-rock samples, generally taken at 25-50 m intervals from 5 to 560 m sub-basement in Hole 504B, drilled in 6.2 m.y. old crust, were analysed for 87Sr/86Sr ratios, Sr and Rb concentrations, and 18O/16O ratios. Sr isotope ratios for 8 samples from the upper 260 m of the hole range from 0.70287 to 0.70377, with a mean of 0.70320. In the 330-560 m interval, 5 samples have a restricted range of 0.70255-0.70279, with a mean of 0.70266, the average value for fresh mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB). In the 260-330 m interval, approximately intermediate Sr isotopic ratios are found. Delta18O values (?) range from 6.4 to 7.8 in the upper 260 m, 6.2-6.4 in the 270-320 m interval, and 5.8-6.2 in the 320-560 m interval. The values in the upper 260 m are typical for basalts which have undergone low-temperature seawater alteration, whereas the values for the 320-560 m interval correspond to MORB which have experienced essentially no oxygen isotopic alteration. The higher 87Sr/86Sr and 18O/16O ratios in the upper part of the hole can be interpreted as the result of a greater overall water/rock ratio in the upper part of the Hole 504B crust than in the lower part. Interaction of basalt with seawater (87Sr/86Sr = 0.7091) increased basalt 87Sr/86Sr ratios and produced smectitic alteration products which raised whole-rock delta18O values. Seawater circulation in the lower basalts may have been partly restricted by the greater number of relatively impermeable massive lava flows below about 230 m sub-basement. These flows may have helped to seal off lower basalts from through-flowing seawater.

(Table 1) K-Ar age of alkaline igneous rocks from the Jan Mayen fracture zone

Bottom morphology of the Jan Mayen transform fracture zone and rock chemistry data show that petrological and chemical specific features of igneous rocks can result from higher permeability of the transform fracture zone and deeper penetration of ocean water into the lithosphere in comparison with rift zones of the Kolbeinsey and Mohn's mid-ocean ridges. Age of alkaline magmatism of the Jan Mayen fracture zone is similar to that of rift zones due to palingenesis of metamorphosed and hydrated mantle and crustal rocks.