This photo reveals European nations’ flags swing before the European Parliament structure in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 6, 2024. (Image by SEBASTIEN BOZON/ AFP) (Image by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP through Getty Images)
Sebastien Bozon|Afp|Getty Images
The last, and largest, day of ballot in the European Union political elections was underway on Sunday, with millions anticipated to cast their ballot.
Estonians began procedures with a three-day running start on Monday, and ballot terminals have actually because opened up throughout the 27 EU participant nations. Most of ballots will certainly be cast on Sunday.
Over 400 million individuals are qualified to choose the 720 participants of the European Parliament (MEPs). In some nations, this consists of youths â $” the ballot age is 16 in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Malta and 17 in Greece. Citizen yield was simply over 50% in the last EU political election of 2019, according to official data.
Departure surveys so far
This year’s political election is happening versus a background of growing support for far-right parties in Europe, many of which have also been increasingly successful domestically.
This includes Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration party, which recorded significant gains in Thursday’s Netherland’s EU election, according to the latest exit polls. The eight seats expected for the country’s left-wing Labour and Green parties give them only a slight lead over Wilders’ Party for Freedom’s (PVV) seven seats. Wilders also secured a decisive victory in the Dutch national elections last November.
Besides the Netherlands, voting has also already closed in the Czech Republic, Malta, Latvia, Slovakia and Ireland.
EU-wide exit polls are expected out late on Sunday and should provide a strong indication of what the bloc’s parliament will look like for the coming years.
The European Parliament
EU elections take place every five years, with citizens voting for parties or MEPs from their home countries to represent them at the bloc-wide level.
Voting systems differ slightly across countries, but citizens can usually cast their ballot in favor of the same political parties at an EU election as they could during a national election. Parties then form alliances in the EU parliament.
For example, the European People’s Party, which won the most seats in the 2019 EU election, is made up of MEPs from Christian-democratic, liberal-conservative and conservative parties from across the EU.
The 720 MEPs come from all 27 EU countries — the most populous ones elect the most MEPs. Germany holds the top spot with 96 MEPs, while Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta have the lowest number of representatives, with six each.
MEPs create and decide on laws and regulations across EU member states, addressing social, economic, climate, defense and other issues. One example is the Digital Services Act, designed to address illegal and harmful content online, which tech companies like social media giants must now abide by in Europe.
Analysts are expecting the bloc’s policies to become more protectionist following the election, with defense likely becoming a bigger focus, while climate and environmental policies slip down the agenda.
The European Parliament also plays a role when it comes to the EU’s budget, which it needs to approve and monitor, and elects the president of the European Commission, one of the key roles within the EU.
