European Union Countries Begin European Parliament Elections

On 6 June, elections for the European Parliament — the world’s only multinational parliamentary body whose members are elected by direct vote — commenced in the European Union. These elections will span four days, concluding on 9 June. Over 370 million citizens from 27 EU countries will participate in the voting, choosing representatives from more than 200 parties, according to Politico.

This year, considering certain demographic changes, EU citizens will elect 720 members to the European Parliament, 15 more than in the 2019 elections. France, Spain, and the Netherlands will each gain two additional seats, while Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Slovakia, Ireland, Slovenia, and Latvia will each increase their representation by one seat.

In absolute terms, Germany will have the largest representation in the European Parliament with 96 seats, followed by France with 81, Italy with 76, Spain with 61, and Poland with 53. The countries with the smallest representation, having between 6 and 9 seats, are Slovenia, Lithuania, Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, and Malta.

Today, 6 June, voting is taking place only in the Netherlands. Ireland will vote on 7 June, while Latvia, Malta, and Slovakia will vote on 8 June. Other EU countries will hold their elections on 9 June. The Czech Republic and Italy are the only EU countries voting over two days — 7 and 8 June, and 8 and 9 June, respectively.

Preliminary election results will be available on the evening of 9 June. The first results are expected after 19:00 Central European Time, with more reliable data, giving a clearer picture of the new European Parliament's composition, available around midnight Central European Time.