In a novel experiment, around 270,000 teenagers in Belgium will be able to vote for the first time in the EU elections in June, in an innovative attempt by one of the 27 member states to give 16- and 17-year-olds a say.

At the most recent 2019 elections, the bloc saw a historically impressive turnout, with 50.6 percent of eligible citizens going to the polls.

And that increase was mainly driven by the under-25s — although paradoxically they were also the age group with the lowest overall turnout.  

Now, the EU is hoping for a new youth surge in turnout for the 2024 election, and wants the idealism of the younger generation to act as a barrier against populism, as the far-right is expected to gain ground across Europe.

“Young Europeans will become a wall of democracy next June against this wave of populism and hate that threatens to attack Europe,” said EU Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas back in January, when he publicly asked US singer Taylor Swift to help get young Europeans out to vote.

The general voting age in the EU is 18 — but Belgium is not the only member state that will allow people that age to vote. Austria has done so since 2007, Malta since 2018 and Germany adapted its electoral law in early 2023, while in Greece, teenage citizens can go to the polls as soon as they turn 17.