The European elections are in full swing, but understanding how they work isn’t always easy. This guide from Euronews tells you everything you need to know.
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Elections across the continent are underway to elect 720 MEPs, an increase from the current parliament’s 705 members, a change implemented to accommodate demographic changes in several member states.
The Parliament is the only EU institution directly elected by voters. The other two main institutions are indirectly elected. The composition of the European Commission requires the approval of MEPs, and the Council is made up of ministers nominated by national governments.
The three bodies, while not always on friendly terms, work together to push legislation across a wide range of areas, including climate change, digital regulation, migration and refugees, the single market, environmental protection and a common budget.
Let’s take a closer look at the 2024 election.
When do the elections take place?
This year’s European Parliament elections will be held from 6-9 June and will be held according to each member state’s electoral rules. Voters will choose their national representatives on open, semi-open and closed lists. A motion to introduce cross-border lists failed to gain support.
Voting began in the Netherlands on Thursday, June 6, while in Ireland it began on Friday, June 7. Latvia, Malta and Slovakia will vote on Saturday, June 8. The remaining countries, including France, Germany and Spain, will vote on a crucial Sunday, June 9.
In the Czech Republic and Italy, voting is allowed to take place on consecutive days – Friday and Saturday in the Czech Republic, and Saturday and Sunday in Italy.
What is the minimum age to vote?
The minimum voting age varies by nationality, as does the day you can go to the polls.
In most member states, the minimum voting age is 18, but in recent years several countries have lowered the minimum age in an effort to increase voter turnout: in Greece, anyone aged 17 or over can vote, while in Belgium, Germany, Malta and Austria the age limit is set at 16.
In contrast, the minimum age to run for parliament is 18 in countries such as Germany, France and Spain, and 25 in Greece and Italy. All EU citizens have the right to run for public office in other EU member states if they reside there.
Does this mean more people will vote?
It’s one of the hot topics in Brussels: EU elections have been plagued by low voter turnout for decades: in 2019, turnout was 50.66%, the first time it had exceeded the 50% threshold since 1994.
This year, the coalition hopes to again achieve at least a 50% voter turnout, which in practical terms would mean 185 million votes out of an estimated 370 million eligible voters.
Young people are seen as a key demographic for increasing voter turnout, which is why EU officials have (overly ambitiously) targeted Taylor Swift and other A-list celebrities to persuade Gen Z and millennials to get out to the polls.
Is voting mandatory?
Voting is compulsory in only four countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Greece. The rule is loosely enforced and has not necessarily led to higher voter turnout: in 2019, Greece had a 58.69% voter turnout, while Bulgaria had just 32.64%.
However, we still urge you to vote to make your voice heard.
Can I vote from overseas?
In principle, yes, it is possible, but it depends on the country.
All member states except the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria and Slovakia allow their citizens to vote in embassies or consulates abroad, which often requires prior registration (Bulgaria and Italy are the only other EU member states that allow this option).
At the same time, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden allow voters to send their ballots by post, and in some cases offer postage reimbursement.
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In addition, Belgium, France and the Netherlands allow the use of proxies, meaning that people who cannot make it to the polls can nominate another person to vote on their behalf.
Currently, Estonia is the only EU member state that offers e-voting.
Meanwhile, a handful of member states, including the Czech Republic, Ireland, Malta and Slovakia, have no option to vote from abroad at all.
For more information on how to vote, please visit Parliament’s dedicated website.
When will I know the results?
Election results will not be announced until Sunday evening, to prevent countries that voted early from influencing the outcome of countries that voted late.
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The European Parliament is due to publish its first partial estimates at 18:15 CET on Sunday, and its first forecasts for the full half-cycle at 20:15 CET. The data will be a combination of estimated vote counts and pre-election opinion polls.
By 23:00 CET, when all broadcasting stations in all member states have closed, we will have a reliable and comprehensive view of the makeup of the next European Parliament.
What happens after the election?
As soon as the elections are over, national authorities will inform Parliament of who has been elected (and who has been disqualified), and the formation of the Semicircular Parliament will begin.
MEPs must organize themselves into political groups according to their ideology and priorities. These groups must contain at least 23 MEPs from at least seven countries. MEPs excluded from a group are considered “unregistered MEPs” (or “unaffiliated MEPs”) and will not have a prominent presence in debates or committees.
There are seven groups in the current semi-circle: the European People’s Party (EPP), the Social Democrats (S&D), Renew Europe, the Greens/European Liberal Alliance, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Identity and Democracy (ID) and the Left.
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The 10th Parliament will begin with its first plenary session on 16 July, when the 720 MEPs will elect the Parliament’s President, 14 Vice-Presidents and five Treasurers.
The first round of meetings will run until July 19 and include the election of committees and subcommittees, but the chairmanship, traditionally allocated by bargaining between major groups, will be announced a few days after the general assembly.
What about Spitzenkandidaten?
In 2014, the EU tried something new in its bid for change: ahead of parliamentary elections, political parties were asked to publicly nominate their lead candidate (Spitzenkandidat in German) for the presidency of the European Commission, the EU’s most powerful and influential institution.
The primaries were supposed to make the European Commission more democratic and accountable in the eyes of European voters.
After the European People’s Party won the election with 221 seats, EU leaders respected the new system and appointed its leading candidate, Jean-Claude Juncker, as European Commission president, after the European Parliament subsequently approved his candidacy with an absolute majority.
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But in 2019, events took a surprising turn when Manfred Weber, the nominee of the European People’s Party (EPP), was summarily rejected by EU leaders (especially France’s Emmanuel Macron), leading to the unexpected emergence of Ursula von der Leyen, who had been completely absent from the election campaign.
Von der Leyen’s appointment survived a half-cycle by a narrow margin, with analysts and journalists declaring the end of the Bundestag.
There have been attempts to revive the system for the 2024 elections – von der Leyen is running as the front-runner this year – and the Socialists, Greens and Left parties have also taken steps to field presidential candidates, but other groups such as Renew Europe and ID continue to shun the system, arguing it has no basis in EU treaties.
Regardless of the candidate’s place of origin, parliament will meet in plenary session between September 16 and 19, during which the appointed candidate will present his or her political case and seek to secure the support of at least 361 of the 720 members of parliament.
Once a chair is selected for that session, the Legislature will begin hearing candidates for the committee based on their areas of responsibility. In 2019, three nominees were rejected during the vetting process.
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After all the nominees survive hours of often acrimonious hearings, Congress gives them a vote of confidence for a five-year term. Only then can the new committees be formed and begin drafting legislation.
