The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on Wednesday announced that the next elections for the legislative body would commence June 6-9 2024 urging the EU public to participate.
“Be part of the largest democratic exercise in Europe. Do not let someone else choose for you. Vote,” Metsola said in a video.
Representatives from the 27 EU member states meeting in Brussels “just approved” the dates, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, Sweden, announced.
Elections take place every five years and are contested by national political parties.
However, EU legislators join transnational political groups in the European Parliament once elected.
The European Parliament, the only directly elected EU institution, votes to elect the European Commission president and approves their cabinet.
Current European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has not yet signaled her intention to seek a second term as head of the EU executive body.
The decided time frame of four days applies to all EU member states while the last European Parliament elections took place in May 2019.
Radical right parties increased their seats in the parliament although Green and Liberal parties also advanced. Traditional Socialist and Christian Democratic parties reached historic lows.
The parliament sits in both Brussels and Strasbourg, France.
