EU elections campaign kicks off with focus on defense, green agenda and migration

The road to the 2024 European elections officially began at midnight with the campaign kickoff. 

The main election issues are expected to be defense and security, with particular focus on Ukraine and Gaza, as well as green policies, the farmers' crisis, and migration. 

Some 370 million voters are being called upon to choose 720 representatives for the next European Parliament, the only EU institution directly elected by citizens.

Voting will take place on June 6 in the Netherlands, June 7 in Ireland and June 9 in the other countries.

Voter turnout is one of the main challenges for EU elections: in 2019, turnout was 50.6%, exceeding 50% for the first time since 1994.

In 2019, the European People's Party won the election, and current polls still favor incumbent leader Ursula von der Leyen.

However, a potential increase in far-right seats could have a significant impact on the future of the European Union.

Who will you actually vote for? 

Unlike national elections, European elections treat each country as a single constituency. This means that the same candidates are available to voters throughout the country.

For example, you can vote for a Catalan pro-independence party even if you live in another region of Spain.  

Spain is the fourth largest country in terms of the number of MEPs, with 61 seats. 

There are 33 different candidacies, and most of the major parties are affiliated with a transnational group that they will join once the Parliament is renewed.   

2019 elections: Junts won in Catalonia, Socialists in Spain

In the 2019 EU elections, the Catalan pro-independence party Junts per Catalunya was the clear winner in Catalonia, with the Socialists in second place and pro-independence Esquerra Republicana (ERC) in third.

Fourth place went to liberal Ciudadanos, followed by left-wing Podemos, the conservative People's Party, and the far-right Vox. 

In Spain as a whole, the Socialists won in all autonomous communities except Catalonia and the Basque Country.

The People's Party secured second place ahead of Ciudadanos. Podemos came fourth and Vox fifth.  

Despite winning in Catalonia, Junts per Catalunya came in seventh overall in Spain, behind Esquerra Republicana, which came in sixth. 

Parties start campaigning in Catalonia 

The first campaign rallies began on Thursday evening, with most parties and candidates presenting their agendas.  

The Junts candidate Toni Comín, who has been living in exile since 2017, highlighted the party's work in the last European legislature and defended the amnesty as a "victory of exile".  

"Our very presence in the European Parliament was a testimony to Spanish repression in the heart of the European institutions. It was a reminder of the criminal persecution and authoritarian drift of the Spanish state," he said.  

The Socialists launched their campaign with their candidate in Catalonia, Javi López, along with Salvador Illa, the leader of the party in Catalonia that won the Catalan election on May 12.   

Illa described the elections as a choice between "more Europe or more right-wing extremism." He said Catalonia would be "decisive" and act as a "barrier" against the far right.  

Javi López said the Socialists were the "refuge" to prevent the far right from entering the European institutions and warned that the "traditional right" was ready to open the door to European power for the far right.   

Diana Riba, Esquerra's candidate, said that their goal in these elections is to "recover from the bad results" of the Catalan elections.  

Riba also warned against the rise of far-right parties, accusing more moderate parties of adopting the "anti-immigration" and "austerity" rhetoric of the far right. 

Number four on the Esquerra list, Tomás Molina, one of Catalonia's most famous meteorologists who is entering politics for the first time, said he would "work for a fairer world and to tackle climate change". 

Ciutadans, which disappeared from the Catalan parliament in the last elections, hope that the European elections will be an opportunity for the party to "start over".   

The party's top candidate Jordi Cañas expressed confidence that they will maintain their representation in the European Parliament. 

The left-wing Comuns Sumar kicked off their campaign stressing the need for an "anti-fascist vote" in response to the expected rise of the far right.   

"We must mobilize so that a Europe of solidarity and democracy prevails over a Europe of fear, hatred, xenophobia and racism," the party's candidate Jaume Asens said.  

Asens urged voters to "vote en masse" and "close the door on the reactionary international forces that seek to destroy the constructive foundations of democracy and deprive citizens of their freedom." 

The conservative People's Party wants to defeat the Socialists, despite recent polls putting them behind.   

"We want to win, just as we did in the local and regional elections," said their candidate, Dolors Montserrat.   

Meanwhile, the party's leader in Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has opened the door to possible alliances between the European People's Party and Italy's president, Giorgia Meloni.   

"I don't find them comparable to other far-right parties," he said. 

Far-right Vox's number two candidate, Hermann Tertsch, said the elections were a "historic opportunity" to achieve "immense, profound and real change" in Europe.   

Tertsch said these elections are "more important than ever" because he believes "for the first time" there is "a movement of national and conservative forces to return to the values" that Vox supports.