How European elections are held, how members of parliament are elected and how many votes are needed

(CNN Spanish) — European citizens go to the polls in which they will define who occupies the 720 seats in the European Parliament, the body in charge of the European Union’s (EU) legislative work.

The elections, which take place between June 6 and 9, are held according to common rules, although each of the 27 member states has privileges on certain aspects of their celebration, such as gender equality and the secrecy of the vote.

Citizens elect their MPs through direct suffrage and their mandate is extended for a period of five years. They can do so both in their country of residence and in any other country in the EU.

According to the official site, elections are governed by the principle of proportional representation, which means that seats are distributed according to each country’s population figures. Some countries, such as Austria, establish a minimum floor for a party to obtain MEPs; in that case it is 4%. Other countries, such as Spain and the Netherlands, for example, do not have an electoral floor. In the latter case, if 31 representatives are elected, this would mean that a political party would need at least 3.23% to gain a seat in the European Parliament.

Also, the minimum number of MEPs per country is six and the maximum is 96. Germany has reached that number and is currently the member state with the largest number of MEPs. Cyprus, on the other hand, has the minimum.

“The number of MEPs elected by each EU country is agreed before each election and is based on the principle of ‘decreasing proportionality’, according to which each MEP from a larger country represents more people than an MEP from a smaller country”, details are explained on the organisation’s official website.

The voting age for citizens is 16 in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Malta, 17 in Greece, and 18 in the remaining member states.

Once elected, representatives are grouped not by nationality, but by political affinity, even if they present themselves as national political parties in elections. In the European Parliament, the majority joins international political groups.

Finally, MPs divide their time between their constituencies, Strasbourg (where 12 plenary sessions a year are held) and Brussels (where they attend additional plenary sessions and meetings of parliamentary committees and political groups).