By Antonis Anzoletou

Analysts in the old continent agree that the upcoming European elections are the most critical since 1979 when the “battle of Brussels” began.

The stakes of the ballot box are many: Relations with Russia and China, but also with the USA especially if Donald Trump wins the election.

The conflicts in the wider region (Ukraine, Palestine), European enlargement, the climate crisis, immigration, the security and defense of the old continent, as well as issues of energy and competitiveness.

The elections they will not be held simultaneously in all the countries of the European Union.

The polls, however, will open everywhere on Sunday night and the results will be announced at the same time.

The dates of the elections

  • Thursday June 6: Netherlands
  • Friday June 7: Ireland
  • June 7-8: Czech Republic
  • June 8: Latvia, Malta, Slovakia
  • June 8-9: Italy
  • Sunday June 9: Greece, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden

Each country determines, based on its legislation, the way it will elect its representatives.

Ways of voting in the E.U.

Cross vote: Greece, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Sweden, Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Croatia
List vote: Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania
Many constituencies: Italy, Poland, Belgium, Ireland
For Greece, the threshold for a party to enter the European Parliament and elect representatives is 3%. It is not the same for all countries.

Entry limit to the European Parliament

5%: Czech Republic, France, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
4%: Italy, Austria, Sweden
3%: Greece
1.8%: Cyprus

Unlimited: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland

After the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the E.U. on 1 February 2020, the composition of the European Parliament changed, as their number was reduced from 751 to 705.

At that time, of the 73 seats held by the United Kingdom, 27 were redistributed to other member states (Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia and Estonia).

The new European Parliament will have 720 MEPs and some countries will increase the representatives according to their population.

The seats in the new European Parliament

Germany: 96 Denmark: 15 (+1)
France: 81 (+2) Finland: 15 (+1)
Italy: 76 Slovakia: 15 (+1)
Spain: 61 (+2) Ireland: 14 (+1)
Poland: 53 (+1) Hungary: 21
Romania: 33 Croatia: 12
Netherlands: 31 (+2) Lithuania: 11
Belgium: 22 (+1) Slovenia: 9 (+1)
Greece: 21 Latvia: 9 (+1)
Czech Republic: 21 Estonia: 7
Sweden: 21 Cyprus: 6
Portugal: 21 Luxembourg: 6
Austria: 20 (+1) Malta: 6
Bulgaria 17