EU election 2024: The future of Europe is in your hands

Do you know everything about the EU or do you feel that you neither know nor care? Regardless of your level of knowledge you may know that the EU-election is happening this year.

In the EU-election we elect 15 representatives to the European Parliament, often called MEPs (=Member of the European Parliament), to represent the interests of citizens in the EU legaslative process and to make sure that other EU institutions function democratically. In short, the EU parliament is one of the EU’s two legislative bodies and together with representatives from the member countries, the EU-parliament is responsible for adopting EU legislation. The EU parliament is also responsible for approving the EU budget. 

The EU Parliament therefore holds an important position within the EU, and the election is your chance to influence by electing Finnish representatives. In the EU election the entire country functions as one election area and those elected therefore represent all of Finland and you can vote for whomever you want. 

Voting 

To vote in the EU election you only need to be a Finnish citizen and be 18 years of age, by the election day at the latest. You can vote in Finland and abroad without having to register in advance. If you are not a Finnish citizen but a citizen of another EU country, and have a legal residence i Finland you can also vote.  

Advance voting in Finland begins on 29 May 2024 and ends on 4 June 2024. On election day 9 June 2024, voters may cast their votes only at their own polling station. The polling station is stated in the voting register and on the card sent to them before the elections. The polling stations are open between 9.00 and 20.00 on election day. 

You can also vote in advance if you are abroad. Advance voting abroad begins on 29 May 2024 and ends on 1 June 2024. You can find the list on polling stations abroad here.

You may also send in your vote by post by ordering the postal voting documents. More information can be found on vaalit.fi website.

Why vote? 

The number of people who vote in the EU elections in Finland is typically rather low, but the EU election is your chance to make an impact on the future of Europe. The EU election will affect you to a high degree and you have several good reasons to cast your vote. About 40 % of the legislation that is done in Finland has its basis in decisions made by the EU. Since the EU parliament is one of the two legislative bodies in the EU, you have the ability to affect also the legislation in Finland by voting in the EU election. 

Topics that will be of high importance in the coming five years are climate, security, and technology. If these are important topics to you, you therefore have all the more reason to cast your vote. The future of Europe and Finland will be shaped by the decisions made, use your vote or others will decide for you. 

Election compass 

If you want to check which candidate is of the same opinion as you on different topics, you can fill out an election compass, for example the one made by YLE or another one. You can find the election compass made by YLE here.