Interest in EU election higher this time around, poll shows

Europeans' interest in the upcoming European Parliament election is significantly higher than before the last vote five years ago, according to an EU poll released on Wednesday, with poverty, health, jobs and defence seen as top campaign issues.

Sixty percent of respondents said they were very or somewhat interested in the vote, which takes place between June 6 and 9, compared to 49% before the 2019 election, the Eurobarometer survey found.

A majority of citizens from the bloc's 27 member states, or 81%, polled in February and March, said the international context - marked by armed conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East - made voting even more important.

"Europeans are aware that the stakes are high," the parliament's president, Roberta Metsola, said in a video message.

In 50 days time, Europeans will start heading to the polls.