On 22nd May there will be local council elections in England and Northern Ireland. On the same day people will be voting in the European Parliament election, which takes place every five years. The European Parliament is the only directly elected institution in the EU. This is the opportunity for the populations of every EU country to decide who will represent them in Brussels and Strasbourg. In Britain there are 30 parties putting up MEPcandidates.  As well as the 4 or 5 easily recognised parties there are the ‘Yorkshire First’ party and the ‘Pirate’ party.  In Greece the Golden Dawn have been approved for the EU election even though they are currently under criminal investigation. The Dutch are aware of the EU elections but only 20% intend to vote. In 2009 the Netherlands had the lowest turnout this century. See also Europe decides and Dutch least interested European elections 2014.