Elections for the European Parliament are due in a little over 100 days and the incumbent Croatian MEPs expect them to be dominated by issues such as security, living standards and the rising cost of living.

The elections will be held on 6-9 June. The next European Parliament will have 720 members, 15 more than now.

Speaking to Croatian reporters in Brussels last week, Tonino Picula (S&D/SDP) said “transatlantic cooperation is hanging by a threadt” and that former US president Donald Trump “has a big chance of being convincing in (US presidential) elections, unless the US rule of law stops him.”

If the EU wants to have an effective common foreign and security policy, it will have to think about “a broad application of the qualified majority,” Picula said.

Tomislav Sokol (EPP/HDZ) said the EU was becoming “much firmer” towards illegal migration and that the new pact on migration and asylum showed that the EU understood security “far more seriously.”

Sunčana Glavak (EPP) said “security comes first today” and welcomed the idea to appoint a European security and defence commissioner.

Surveys show that citizens are most interested in economic and social topics, said Biljana Borzan (S&D/SDP). “That’s where we are strongest, that’s our core business and that’s where we have something to say.”

Karlo Ressler (EPP/HDZ) said the European People’s Party campaign would focus on security and the economy, notably boosting the EU’s competitiveness.

The vote in Croatia is expected to be held on 9 June. Croatians will elect 12 MEPs who are elected by proportional representation and preferential voting in a single constituency representing all of Croatia. All political parties registered in Croatia can run in the European elections.

Valter Flego (Renew/IDS) said the coalition comprising the IDS (Istrian Democratic Party), the regional PGS, the Reformists and Focus could be expanded “with one, two or three parties.” “I would be sorry if the presidents of some parties with that centrist world view didn’t understand the fact that we should put our heads together,” he added.

Conservative Ladislav Ilčić (ECR) said he would create “one serious political group.”

Although forecasts show that the European Conservatives and Reformists will achieve a better result in this year’s election, Ressler said that would not be to the detriment of the EPP, which “will remain the strongest party with the same number of seats, while the Social Democrats will have fewer seats than today.”

The Croatian turnout in the 2019 European elections was 29.8%, more than in 2014, when it was 25%. The campaign for the European elections and the turnout will depend on the parliamentary election in Croatia, the date of which is not known yet.

Romana Jerković of the Social Democrats expects a higher turnout than in 2019 because, she said, the EU successfully showed citizens that “it can change and contribute to solving some national problems.”

Borzan said the date of the Croatian parliamentary election would determine the campaign for the European elections.

If the national election is held first, she said, the European elections will be “a little challenging because citizens will probably be fatigued from what happened in the (national) parliamentary campaign.”