Polls open in 20 EU countries to elect new European Parliament
Al Jazeera
The election will shape how the European bloc confronts challenges including a hostile Russia, increased industrial rivalry with China and the United States, climate change and immigration.
Voters across 20 European Union countries have started picking the bloc’s next parliament amid concern that a likely shift to the political right will undermine the ability of the world’s biggest trading bloc to take decisions as war rages in Ukraine and anti-migrant sentiment mounts.
The election began on Thursday in the Netherlands and in other countries on Friday and Saturday, but the bulk of EU votes are being cast on Sunday, with France, Germany, Poland and Spain opening the polls and Italy holding a second day of voting to elect 720 members of the European Parliament.
Seats in the assembly are allocated based on population, ranging from six in Malta and in Luxembourg to 96 in Germany.
The election will shape how the European bloc confronts challenges including a hostile Russia, increased industrial rivalry with China and the United States, climate change and immigration.