This article relates to the 2014 European elections. Here you can find out about the European elections of 26 May 2019

From 22 to 25 May, elections to the European Parliament (EP) are being held across the 28 states that make up the European Union (EU). In Italy, voting takes place on 25 May. More than 500 million citizens are called upon to choose 751 MEPs who will serve for five years. All citizens aged 18 or over may vote, with the exception of Austria, where the minimum voting age is 16. The first direct election by universal suffrage was held in 1979; before that, the EP was made up of representatives from the various national parliaments.

How voting works

The electoral system is proportional, and citizens may express their preferences (up to a maximum of three) for candidates in their own constituency. In Italy there are five constituencies, covering a total of 47 million people entitled to go to the polls: north-west, north-east, central, south, and islands. The threshold a party must reach in order to win seats in parliament is 4 per cent. Once elected, MEPs are called upon to elect the President of the European Commission — the EU's executive body — on a proposal from the European Council.

What is different this year

This year, 751 MEPs are being elected. Italy has 73, the same as the United Kingdom. Only Germany, with 96, and France, with 74, have more than us. A new feature this year is that the parties have decided to announce their preference for the future President of the Commission in advance. This is in line with the Treaty of Lisbon, which stipulates that the President must be elected "taking into account the results of the elections." The Commission hopes this choice will also act as an incentive to bring voter turnout back to the levels seen at the first election, in 1979, when 85.6 per cent of Italians and 62 per cent of all Europeans went to the polls (in 2009, the figures were 65 and 43 per cent respectively).

What the European Parliament does

The EP plays a fundamental role in our daily lives, and over the years its powers and influence have grown. Together with the Council, it discusses and approves European legislation that then takes effect in all European countries across a range of sectors, including agriculture, energy and environmental policy, and immigration. It oversees the other institutions in order to ensure that their actions comply with the rules of the EU treaties. It discusses and adopts the EU budget. The EP works through specialised committees, just as the Italian parliament does, though these meet in Brussels, the capital of Europe and the seat of the Commission.