Voting under way in 20 countries in elections likely to shift EU to the right

Surveys suggest mainstream and pro-European parties will retain their majority in Parliament, but they will lose seats to hard-right parties

A woman exits a voting booth after casting her vote in European Parliament and local elections in Baleni, Romania (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

Tens of millions of people across the European Union are voting in parliamentary elections in a massive exercise of democracy that is expected to shift the bloc to the right and redirect its future.

The war in Ukraine, migration and the impact of climate policy on farmers are some of the issues weighing on voters’ minds as they cast ballots to elect 720 members of the European Parliament.