The beginning of European parliamentary elections in the shadow of threats and concerns

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, the German publication “D Site” in a report on the trend He discussed the parliamentary elections in the European Union, which officially started yesterday, and wrote: Czechs and Irish people will vote for the European Parliament from today, citizens in Germany should wait until Sunday to participate in these parliamentary elections.

In this way, after the start of this election by the Netherlands, the people of Ireland and the Czech Republic were also called to vote for the European Parliament. Polling stations in Ireland opened at 8am today (Friday) German time and the first polls are expected in the late evening. In the Czech Republic, voters have from Friday afternoon to Saturday noon to cast their ballots.

In the Netherlands, Frans Timmermans’ Red-Green coalition is ahead of Geert Wilders’ right-wing populist party in opposition. . The overall results of the EU election are expected to be announced on Sunday evening, when polling stations in Germany and other EU countries are closed.

For the German federal government, the election also serves as a test. The condition is considered before state elections in East Germany and federal elections in 2025. For the first time this year, people aged 16 and older in Germany are allowed to participate in these elections.

According to the polls, the Social Democratic parties, the Greens and the Liberal Democratic Party in the German coalition government should accept the election loss, while the Christian United parties and the far-right Alternative for Germany party will gain more votes in the opposition. A shift to the extreme right is also expected across Europe.

The European Union consists of 27 countries. Croatia joined the organization as the youngest member in 2013 and England left in 2020. Candidates for membership are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The European Union has 24 official languages. Payments are made in Euro in 20 countries of the European Union. Currently, about 448.8 million people live in the European Union. The most populous member state is Germany with about 84.4 million people. Of the approximately 4 million square kilometers of EU territory, approximately 634,000 belong to the EU’s largest country, France. Germany is in fourth place with about 353,000 square kilometers. The smallest member, Malta, covers only 313 square kilometers.

According to official statistics, in 2022, on average, almost one in six EU residents (16.5%) will be at risk of poverty. was located However, here too the risk varies greatly depending on the country of origin. The Czech Republic had the lowest poverty rate in 2022 at 10.2 percent, followed by Hungary and Slovenia (12.1 percent each). Germany was in the middle with 14.7%. The highest risk of poverty was in Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria (around 23%), but it was also high in Italy and Spain (around 20%). Anyone earning less than 60% of the national median income is considered at risk of poverty.

According to the latest EU statistics for 2022, the highest unemployment rate is for people between 20 and 64. The year was in Spain (12.6 percent), Greece (12.3) and Italy (8.0). The Czech Republic (2.2), Poland (2.8) and the Netherlands (2.9) had the lowest unemployment rates. For Germany, this value was 3.1 percent. Greece has the highest level of debt in 2022 (172.6% of GDP) and Bulgaria has the lowest (22.6). This rate was 66.1 percent in Germany.