EU nationals have just two weeks left to register their intention to vote in the EU elections, if they plan to vote in the Netherlands rather than their country of origin.

April 23 is the closing date for registering and EU nationals have to use a special form and send it to their local authority in order to do so.  In 2019, only 12% of EU nationals had registered to vote in the Netherlands and national government pledged at the time to do more to encourage people to sign up.

Last month, the big Dutch local councils told Dutch News they had pledged to write to all EU citizens living within their boundaries to alert them to the need to register if they want to vote in the Netherlands on June 6.

The Netherlands will elect 31 MPs on that date, and the far-right PVV is expected to be the biggest party in the Dutch delegation. EU nationals who want to vote in their home countries do not need to sign up.

“Councils are required to send the European parliamentary election registration form to all EU nationals living within their boundaries,” the home affairs ministry told Dutch News. “The letter and the Y32 form are translated into English, German, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish”.

• Government website on voting rights
•  Form Y32 to register to vote

The European parliament has passed several motions calling for further efforts to ensure more “mobile citizens” turn out to vote and saying it is “essential… to ensure they can exercise that right”.

Are you an EU national and have you had a letter from your council about your right to vote? We’d like to hear from you. Please email editor@dutchnews.nl