the participation of United Kingdom citizens , as the country left the EU at the end of January 2020 . As in 2009 , only 27 Member States will vote for the future of the Union but , while the 2019 Union was a shrinking one , the EU of 2024 is looking at expanding once again .
When asked in December 2023 if they will participate in the upcoming European elections , 68 % of EU citizens said they were likely to vote if the elections were held in the following week 2 . This was nine percentage points higher than five years earlier , and the responses in all Member States were at 50 % or higher . Participation rates in 2024 are likely to be pushed up by the departure of the United Kingdom , as this country has a large population and was in the bottom 10 countries in terms of participation ( 37.18 % in 2019 ).
The participation of citizens in democracy is key . Civic education on their rights and the duty to vote , especially for young generations , is a crucial element that is mostly lacking in the curricula of EU countries . This is why civic education projects such as JEF ’ s Europe at School activity , running for 25 years and counting across Europe , are key . Increasing citizens ’ participation and their understanding of the EU is among the Agenda of Hope proposals . Our bus tours of 2014 and 2019 , as well as all our street actions to raise awareness of the importance of this democratic exercise at every election since 1979 , have taught us this much : informed European citizens are more likely to want to vote . The same can be said about positive attitudes toward a topic , as we can see with the increase in positive views on enlargement now that it is being widely discussed ( in spring 2023 , 64 % of Eurobarometer respondents agreed with the EU granting candidate status to Ukraine 3 ).
2 . EP Autumn 2023 Survey - Six months before the 2024 European Elections : https :// europa . eu / eurobarometer / surveys / detail / 3152
3 . Standard Eurobarometer 99 - Spring 2023 : https :// europa . eu / eurobarometer / surveys / detail / 3052
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