European elections in the Netherlands: Poles vote in church and French people at school

Europeans living in the Netherlands can vote in next month's European elections. They can vote for Dutch parties or participate in elections in their country of origin. Polling stations are being set up throughout the country for this purpose.

Romania has two polling stations in the Netherlands: the embassy in The Hague and the Sporthallen Zuid in Amsterdam. The Polish community can vote at two locations in The Hague: the embassy on Alexanderstraat and the trade department of the embassy on Van Lennepweg. Poles can also cast their votes in the Zuiderkerk in Amsterdam, the 't Kraaienest community center in Breda, the Pools House in Brunssum, and the De Wende community center in Groningen.

Finns in the Netherlands can vote next week. The embassy in The Hague is available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for this purpose, and on Thursdays and Fridays, Finnish voters can go to the DoubleTree hotel next to Amsterdam Central station.

Belgians can vote at the residence of their ambassador in The Hague. French voters can vote at the consular post in Amsterdam and at the Lycée Français Vincent van Gogh, a French school in The Hague. Italians can visit an Italian cultural institute on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam.

Spaniards, Portuguese, Slovenes, Estonians, Latvians and Croats can vote at the diplomatic representation offices of their countries. Other voters must vote by post from the Netherlands. This applies to Germans, Danes, Greeks, Austrians, Luxembourgers and Lithuanians. However, there are also countries where citizens living abroad are not allowed to vote. These are the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ireland and Malta.

Dutch people living abroad can also vote for the European Parliament. They receive a ballot paper at home and can send it by post to the municipality of The Hague.

The Netherlands will vote on Thursday, June 6, as the first of the 27 member states. The last elections are on Sunday, June 9. The results will be announced that evening. After the elections, the European Parliament will have 720 seats, which will be distributed based on the number of inhabitants. Germany has the maximum number of 96 seats. The Netherlands has 31 seats to distribute.