Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

As almost 400 million EU citizens prepare to go to the polls in June to elect the next European Parliament,

we turn our attention to how this massive democratic exercise is organised,

and the multiple ideas and attempts to strengthen it now and in the future. So stay with us. It's about

your future. From the 6th to the 9th of June 24, voters across Europe will go to the ballot box

to elect the 720 members of the European Parliament, 15 more than in the outgoing

parliament, and as the EU's only directly elected body, this election is one of the largest

democratic exercises in the world. Yes, it is. So, how is it currently organized? Well,

EU election rules today are a combination of national and European ones.

MEPs are elected according to national electoral systems, providing they respect common EU rules,

such as proportional representation.

But member states are free to decide on many aspects of the process.

For example, while in some countries

voters can only vote for a list without the possibility to change the order of candidates on it,

in others they can express their preference for one or more candidates. Now, to be elected, a candidate

needs to receive a minimum number of votes. According to EU rules,

countries can set their own thresholds, provided they're not higher than 5%. They're also free

to organise the electoral territory as long as the proportionality principle is respected.

So whilst in the majority of countries, the national territory forms a single electoral constituency for the European elections,

some countries have divided their territories into multiple constituencies.

There are also different rules on the minimum age of voters,

so whilst in most countries you can vote at 18, in Greece you can do it at 17,

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