In the European elections on June 9th, the European Parliament will be elected and all EU citizens are called upon to cast their vote. Information about the most important dates, deadlines and special features of the 2024 European elections can be found on FOCUS Online.

The European elections take place every five years. This year it’s that time again for EU citizens: elections will take place from June 6th to 9th. The specific election date depends on the usual election days in the respective countries; in Germany this is traditionally Sunday.

The dates and deadlines are published on the Federal Returning Officer’s website.

Anyone who is registered on the electoral roll can request a postal vote without a special reason. Even if you are abroad at the time of the election, you can vote by post.

On July 16, 2024, the elected candidates will acquire membership in the European Parliament after the final determination of the result with the opening of the constituent session of the European Parliament.

You can follow the mood and developments for the 2024 European elections in our ticker.

The European Parliament is the only directly elected body of the European Union. The main tasks are the following:

Unlike national parliaments, the European Parliament cannot propose laws. Only the European Commission can proactively propose laws.

All EU citizens who have lived in the EU for at least three months are eligible to vote. Around 66 million Germans are eligible to vote in the 2024 European elections. The voting age in Germany was reduced from 18 to 16 for the 2024 European elections. In Austria, for example, you can also vote at the age of 16, in Greece at the age of 17.

The European elections in Germany were completed with just one tick. EU citizens vote for lists, not MPs.

The European Parliament currently has a total of 705 representatives from all member states. The most populous country is Germany, which currently has 96 MEPs. Luxembourg and Malta, for example, which have fewer inhabitants, each have six MEPs. It also stipulates that no country may have more than 96 representatives or fewer than six representatives.

The MPs then elect a president for two and a half years. This chairs the meetings and debates in Parliament and represents the body externally and towards other EU institutions. The Maltese Roberta Metsola has held the office of Speaker of Parliament since January 2022.