European elections: 21 countries go to the polls as vote enters final day

Around 360 million EU citizens are casting their votes to elect 720 members of the European Parliament, in the world’s biggest trans-national ballot.

On the fourth and final day, voting will take place in 21 countries, with Italy set to be the last country to close its ballot boxes at 23.00 CET.

Euronews will bring you all the latest news and expert analysis with a special live programme broadcast from the European Parliament from 17.00 CET. The first national estimates based on exit polling are expected from 18.15 CET.

Opinion polls predict historic gains for radical right-wing parties. Such an outcome could shift the balance of power in the EU’s only democratically-elected institution and give right-wing forces more influence than ever on EU policies. Also at stake – who takes the helm at the European institutions in Brussels, including the Commission and the Council, with the elections set to trigger a race to the top EU jobs.

Here’s a round-up to get you up to date:

• The ballot has already closed in six EU countries – Czechia, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands and Slovakia. The vote opens for the first time today in 21 EU countries, while voting continues in Italy and Estonia.
• The election has been marred by violence, as the Danish Prime Minister suffered an assault in Copenhagen Friday evening (7 June) shortly after a campaigning event.
• Dutch Results. 47% of the Dutch electorate voted on Thursday (6 June), with the right-wing PVV party emerging as the biggest gainer of the night based on the exit poll, jumping from one seat to seven. But the Green-Socialist coalition surprisingly edged ahead with eight seats, according to the estimation which will be confirmed this evening.
• Slovak media has also reported preliminary results which suggest the social-liberal Progressive Slovakia has edged premier Robert Fico’s populist Smer party to victory.

Stay with us as our reporters bring you the latest news and results live.