The number of foreign nationals registering to vote in the Netherlands in the European elections of June 6 has risen by some 30% on 2019, according to home affairs ministry figures.

In 2014, fewer than 50,000 foreign nationals registered to vote but the total rose to 56,000 in 2019, despite major problems with registration.

Now, in the coming elections, 67,000 non-Dutch EU nationals will vote, a rise of 17,000 on 2019. This is taking the 5,877 British nationals who can no longer vote into account, the home affairs ministry told Dutch News.

Foreign nationals had to register their intention to vote by April 23. According to research by Dutch News, this year local councils were much more proactive in encouraging foreign nationals to sign up, although Danish nationals in Amsterdam did have problems when the computer system told them Denmark was not in the EU.

Nevertheless, the total number of people registering to vote remains small, considering some 650,000 EU nationals now live in the Netherlands, according to CBS figures.

In 2019, turnout in the Netherlands was just 42% with some 5.5 million people voting for 26 MEPs. This year, the Netherlands will have 31 MEPs.