EU Election Series—An Explainer

The European Parliament elections to be held June 6-9, 2024 will shape the EU's political direction over the next five years. Here are the basics to know ahead of a vote that could well constitute a defining moment for the bloc.

What is happening?

Almost 450 million citizens in the EU’s 27 member states will vote for a new European Parliament in what is often referred to as “EU elections”.

The parliament has between 720 and 750 members. Each EU member state receives a number of parliamentary seats based on the principle of “degressive proportionality”. This means that smaller member states are allocated more seats than they would receive if population were the only criterion used to allocate seats. Germany has the most seats, 96, while Malta has the fewest, just six.

Election to the European Parliament is based on national lists, which means that citizens in the member states vote for national parties. Candidates nominated by the winning parties enter parliament and form groups with those elected in other EU states who share similar political perspectives. The European Parliament's Socialist and Democrats (S&D) group, for example, comprises members from Germany’s Social Democratic Party, France’s Socialist Party, and Italy’s Democratic Party, among others.

Why do the EU elections matter?

The European Parliament is one of two EU legislative bodies. With the Council of the European Union (which represents the member states), the parliament contributes to elaborating EU law, namely through directions and regulations, via the so-called co-decision procedure. This procedure, which gives both bodies equal power over legislative acts, applies to about 84 policy areas, such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), environmental policy, industrial policy, and some policies related to internal security, justice, and individual freedoms. Approval from the European Parliament is also needed for any reform of EU treaties. The reform process cannot even begin without agreement from the parliament, since it needs to approve summoning a convention to consider treaty changes. The European Parliament also plays a key role in setting the EU’s financial priorities by approving the bloc’s multi-annual budget and by voting on annual expenditures. Finally, the European Parliament elects the European Commission president and approves the College of Commissioners, which means the legislature shapes the EU’s leadership.

What to watch?

The central issue for the 2024 EU elections is the potential victory of far-right parties, and their capacity to organize themselves into a parliamentary group. The far right is divided in the current parliament, but an alliance among them—whether formal or ad hoc—could block European Commission legislative proposals and become a considerable obstacle for deeper European integration and for funding some of the EU’s main projects, such as the green transition and support for Ukraine.