Polls opened in the Netherlands on Thursday to kick off four days of voting in European Union parliamentary elections across the 27 member states expected to deliver gains for the hard right.
Estonians can cast their ballots across six days, starting Monday, but the Netherlands is the only EU country to start its single-day vote so early, followed by Ireland on Friday and the rest of the EU nations over the weekend.
After all member states have completed voting, Europe-wide results will be announced Sunday night.
The Dutch voting comes six months after Geert Wilders’ far-right Party for Freedom sent shockwaves around Europe by becoming the biggest party in the Dutch national parliament. Polling suggests Wilders will build on that popularity and set the tone for much of the bloc.
Since the last EU elections five years ago, populist, far-right and extremist parties are leading governments in three EU nations, are part of governing coalitions in several others, and appear to have surging public support across the continent.
The EU elections are the world’s second-biggest exercise in democracy behind the election in India, and the stakes are high.
Almost 400 million voters will be electing 720 members of the European Parliament from beyond the Arctic circle to the edges of Africa and Asia. They will have an impact on issues ranging from global climate policies and defense to migration and geopolitical relations with China and the United States.
