It’s official: European voters will head to the polls from June 6-9, 2024 to choose the next class of MEPs.
EU diplomats signed off on the election dates Wednesday, according to the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU.
In selecting some 705 parliamentarians to serve from 2024 to 2029, EU citizens could shake up not just the Parliament, but the EU executive as well. Europe’s political groups are inching toward a historic realignment, as the European People’s Party eyes alliances with the far right, fraying its tacit pro-EU coalition with the center left.
The choice to hold balloting from Thursday, June 6, to Sunday, June 9 next year marks a defeat for Portugal. Lisbon said those dates would depress turnout in Portugal, due to a national holiday on Monday, June 10. However, diplomats were not able to muster the unanimous support needed to choose different dates.