Brussels, 6 June 2025
Elections are at the core of democracy and the elections to the European Parliament are among the world’s largest democratic exercises. Today, the European Commission has published a report on the conduct of the 2024 elections to the European Parliament.
The report notes a voter turnout of 50.74%, showing the continued vibrancy of our EU democracy. It outlines targeted measures taken by Member States and EU institutions to engage young people, boost women’s participation, facilitate access for persons with disabilities, and support mobile EU citizens (EU citizens who have moved to another Member State to work, live or study).
The report also highlights measures taken by each EU institution and the Member States, as well as the unprecedented cooperation between them to counter threats to the electoral process, such as foreign interference, disinformation, cybersecurity and other issues affecting the integrity of elections, both prior and during the elections. All this helped to ensure that the elections ran smoothly and without any major incident or disruption.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy said: “The European Parliament elections are a cornerstone of democracy. We have made crucial strides to ensure these electoral processes are resilient and fair. The 2024 elections showcased an exceptional level of EU cooperation, reinforcing our commitment to safeguarding democratic integrity.”
Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, said: “The 2024 elections saw a stable turnout and an unprecedented level of collaboration among Member States, EU institutions, and stakeholders. This teamwork translated into enhanced preparedness to face any disruption. Promoting high voter turnout and inclusive participation – especially among young voters remains vital. As threats to elections evolve rapidly our systems of checks and balances need to be more robust than ever so that we can effectively protect our democracies.”
Since the last elections in 2019, the EU has enhanced its support for Member States to reinforce the resilience of democracies and elections through initiatives like the 2020 European Democracy Action Plan, the 2021 measures to protect electoral integrity, and the 2023 Defence of Democracy package. More recently, in the framework of the European Cooperation Network on Elections two practical tools were developed: an elections integrity checklist and a risk management matrix. Ensuring integrity and fairness of electoral process in the EU will also be a key pillar of the forthcoming European Democracy Shield.
Reporting on the conduct of the elections to the European Parliament is an established practice of the Commission. It also follows the Commission’s commitment to assess the impact of the 2023 Recommendation on inclusive and resilient electoral processes no later than one year after the elections. The report is based on a variety of sources, including Commission surveys to Member States, European and national political parties, and direct feedback from citizens and reports from election observers and civil society organisations.
Source – EU Commission