ELECTIONS for the European Parliament began in the Netherlands today in a poll expected to see gains for the far-right.

Voting will continue for the second day today in the four-day elections, with Ireland and the Czech Republic opening polls.

Other EU states will vote over the weekend.

Far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders, known for anti-Muslim and anti-migrant policies and leading the biggest party in the Dutch parliament, was among the first senior politicians to cast a ballot.

He immediately called for a broad alliance of hard-right parties after voting in The Hague.

Since the last EU election in 2019, populist, far-right and extremist parties now lead governments in three EU nations, are part of governing coalitions in several others, and appear to have surging public support across the continent.

In the Netherlands, the PVV could build on its domestic surge and possibly overtake the combined Labour Party and Green Left in the European Parliament.

Labour topped the Dutch EU parliamentary election in 2019 with 19 per cent of the vote for six seats while the Greens took 11 per cent and three seats.

Mr Wilders’s party at the time only managed 3.5 per cent and no seats.

Almost 400 million voters will be electing 720 members of the European Parliament from beyond the Arctic Circle to the edges of Africa and Asia.

The results, which will be announced on Sunday night, will affect issues ranging from climate and military policy to migration and relations with China and the United States.

The number of members elected in each country depends on the size of the population, ranging from six for Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus to 96 for Germany.