The 2024 European elections are now behind us. From Parliament’s information campaign to the election results and the next steps, here’s what you need to know.
On 6-9 June 2024 millions of people across the EU voted in the European elections to choose who will represent them in the European Parliament.
The elections culminated with an election night in the plenary chamber of the European Parliament in Brussels where hundreds of journalists covered the announcement of provisional results.
Looking back on the elections after the results started coming in, Parliament President Roberta Metsola said: “Democracy is alive and our Parliament will be one that is constructive and that will continue to work for all Europeans.”
At the end of the night, a projection for the composition of the new Parliament based on provisional results in 23 countries and estimates and pre-electoral data for the remaining four was published.
Preliminary figures revealed that same night suggested an estimated turnout across the EU of around 51%, similar to the turnout in 2019.
Election results
Check out the election results website for information on both individual EU countries and aggregate numbers at the EU level.
The European Parliament will continue to collect and publish data as they become publicly available in EU countries. It might take several weeks before the final results are known.
What happens now that the European elections are over
Now that the 2024 European elections are over and the provisional results are known, work will begin to form the new Parliament, approve the new European Commission and resume adapting and voting on new EU legislation.
In the weeks following the elections on 6-9 June, the newly-elected MEPs will form political groups according to shared political beliefs. From 16-19 July, MEPs will meet for the constitutive session to vote on the leadership of the Parliament, including the President.
As part of the elections, European political parties put forward lead candidates for the post of European Commission President. The outcome of the elections will play an important role in deciding who should fill this post.
MEPs will vote to elect the new President of the European Commission, nominated by the leaders of EU countries.
Parliament will organise hearings with prospective Commissioners to assess their suitability for their proposed portfolios. This will be followed by a plenary vote where MEPs will have to decide whether to approve the composition of the Commission as a whole.
- What happens after the EU elections
Support from civil society and businesses
Leading figures from across Europe’s business, cultural and non-profit communities joined the campaign to raise awareness about the importance of the elections and encourage people to vote.
More than 500 pan-European umbrella organisations and many others at national level promoted the #UseYourVote campaign through their networks, with their own campaigns or on their social media channels.
On Europe Day on 9 May prominent buildings across Europe were lit up in the colours of the EU flag to raise awareness of the European elections.
In addition, the together.eu community, which grew to more than 200,000 members, helped to raise awareness of the European elections. Run by the European Parliament, the together.eu project aims to involve people in the democratic life of Europe and especially encourage them to actively participate in democracy.
- (open in a new tab) Join the together.eu community
Use Your Vote campaign
Parliament ran a campaign called ‘Use your vote or others will decide for you’ to encourage people to vote.
A key part of the campaign was a short video highlighting the importance of voting and safeguarding democracy, which has been viewed more than 500 million times.
The Use Your Vote video features testimonies of senior citizens from different EU countries passing on their stories about democracy to the next generations and underlining that democracy and voting cannot be taken for granted.
Watch the Use Your Vote video here.
Countering disinformation
The EU institutions also played an active part in defending the European elections against disinformation and information manipulation targeting European democracy.
According to a Eurobarometer survey, 81% of EU citizens agree that news or information that misrepresents reality or is false is a problem for democracy.
Parliament has been working with other EU institutions, national authorities, media, fact-checkers and civil society, in order to share insights, exchange best practices and coordinate responses.
2024 European elections
- (open in a new tab) European elections website
- (open in a new tab) Multimedia: European elections 2024
- Country-by-country information on the European elections
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