Dutch voters begin four-day European parliament election

Geert Wilders, campaigning in The Hague, said the European parliamentary election was ‘about asylum and national sovereignty’. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters

Elections to the world’s only directly elected transnational assembly have got under way in earnest as Dutch voters go to the polls in a four-day, 27-country ballot that will return 720 MEPs to the next European parliament.

The results of the elections, which will shape the makeup of the next European Commission and could have a major impact on the bloc’s political direction in key areas including immigration and climate action, are expected on Sunday evening.