Netherlands kicks off four days of European Union elections across 27 nations

Geert Wilders of the PVV casts his ballot for the European election (Peter Dejong/AP)

Four days of voting are getting under way in European Union parliamentary elections across the 27 member states that are expected to deliver gains for the hard right.

Estonians are casting their ballots across six days, starting from Monday, but the Netherlands is the only EU country to start its single-day vote so early, followed by Ireland on Friday and the rest of the EU nations over the weekend.