Youth participation in European elections

Between 6 and 9 June 2024, the 10th European elections will take place in the 27 EU Member States, and around 366 million EU citizens will be called to the polling stations. The elections to the European Parliament represent a crucial moment in EU democracy: they give citizens a say in the EU's political direction. After declining ever since the first European elections in 1979, electoral turnout in the 2019 elections reached an unprecedented 50.6 % (up 8 percentage points compared with 2014). This increase was largely the result of greater youth participation, demonstrating young people's desire for active political participation, including by casting their vote. This desire was also repeatedly expressed during the Conference on the Future of Europe, a major innovative exercise in participatory democracy. In 2024, four Member States (Belgium, Germany, Malta and Austria) will allow their citizens to vote from the age of 16, and in Greece the voting age is 17. Lowering the voting age is one way to increase youth participation in elections; other instruments include introducing youth quotas, providing for online or postal voting, decreasing the age to stand as candidate, or promoting civic education in school curricula. Some also argue that a higher eligibility age to stand as a candidate may be a key impediment to young people's participation. European democracy is about much more than just voting – it is also about civic engagement and participation in the democratic process. Over the years, what political participation looks like has evolved, especially among young people. Large-scale protests and rallies, engagement in the digital sphere, and the rise of non-conventional forms of activism – such as 'clicktivism', grassroots activities and boycots – have become commonplace.