EU elections 2024: all you need to know about the upcoming EU elections

The European Parliament elections, held June 6-9, 2024, determine the legislative representation for 27 EU Member States, with the number of seats increasing from 705 to 720. The document emphasizes the role of the European Parliament in shaping the EU Green Deal and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, while warning against the weakening of environmental requirements in the Common Agricultural Policy and the dropping of chemical regulations like REACH. It advocates for closing the 'implementation gap' of environmental laws, which could save the EU economy EUR 55 billion annually in health and environmental costs, and calls for universal access to justice rights for citizens and NGOs to challenge environmental law-breaking across all Member States.

• The European Parliament elections occur every five years, with the June 6-9, 2024, cycle being the first since Brexit. The number of members (MEPs) will increase from 705 to 720 following these elections to account for demographic changes.
• The EU Green Deal, launched in 2019, aims for the EU to become carbon neutral by 2050 through legislation such as the EU Climate Law and the EU Deforestation-free Products Law. However, progress has been hindered by the removal of proposals like the revision of REACH regarding harmful chemicals and the weakening of environmental requirements in the Common Agricultural Policy.
• There is a significant 'implementation gap' where national authorities fail to enforce EU environmental laws. Full implementation of these laws is estimated to potentially save the EU economy approximately EUR 55 billion per year in direct environmental and health costs.
• Access to justice for environmental law-breaking is inconsistent across the EU; for example, citizens in Belgium and Germany can challenge cities in court over air quality laws, whereas those in Poland and Bulgaria cannot.
• EU Member States provide between EUR 34 billion and EUR 48 billion in annual subsidies for activities that harm nature, with the majority of these funds allocated to agriculture.

APA

ClientEarth (2024). EU elections 2024: all you need to know about the upcoming EU elections. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/eu-elections-2024-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-eu-elections/

Chicago

ClientEarth. EU elections 2024: all you need to know about the upcoming EU elections. 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/eu-elections-2024-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-eu-elections/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=EU elections 2024: all you need to know about the upcoming EU elections |date=30 May 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/eu-elections-2024-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-eu-elections/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2024elections, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{EU elections 2024: all you need to know about the upcoming EU elections}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/latest/news/eu-elections-2024-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-eu-elections/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }