Europe’s lost voters: why young people don’t participate in EU elections and how to re-engage them

A group of UCL Political Science undergraduates explores how young people could be interested and engaged in EU politics.

UCL European Institute

8 June 2026

5–7 minutes

communication, Political Participation, young voters

We believe the best way for young voters to get engaged in EU politics is through direct participation through programmes and schemes that the EU has to offer. Youth participation in EU politics still faces persistent challenges, despite efforts to increase engagement. A major issue is the dissimilarity between young people’s life experiences and the EU governing structures. When daily life feels precarious, politics can appear distant or ineffective. This post explores what can be done, in particular by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), to bridge this divide.

With youth unemployment around 10 percent, many young Europeans feel like their opportunities are limited, lowering trust in political institutions. This is reflected in electoral participation: the 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections turnout among under 25s was only 36 percent compared to 51 percent overall. Along with describing EU politics as too complex, technocratic or irrelevant, young individuals highlight structural barriers like limited information and civic education. The fact that many young people do not feel represented by the composition of the EP adds to the problem. The average age of MEPs is 50 years old, many young people feel that their perspectives are underappreciated. Despite digitalised communication among youth, political institutions do not always use relatable messaging to connect with them.

Building a common European consciousness through education

Our experience of secondary school curriculums in the EU was one in which there was only shallow coverage of EU politics, and little that would be approachable to young people. Polling shows young people get most of their information on the EU from social media and TV, and little from formal education. Young people’s knowledge and understanding of the EU is much lower than their understanding of national politics: only 11% feel that they know ‘a great deal’ about EU politics. If one reason for the low overall turnout in the June 2024 European elections (50.74%) is that people were not well informed, then we are faced with a grave problem: education received in European schools does not provide young people with enough information to participate in European politics.

One possible solution could be to teach EU politics in a more interactive way, which emphasises how young people can engage with the EU. For instance, secondary school courses could centre on concrete opportunities such as the European Citizens’ Initiative, the European Youth Event in Strasbourg, or how to contact Members of the European Parliament. Furthermore, creating a mandatory EU curriculum across all member states would reduce the wide disparities in knowledge currently observed between countries, so that all students from any EU member state will have comparable knowledge of the EU. However, when it comes to secondary school education, the member states are in the driving seat while the EU has only supporting competence – and definitely not over curricula.

Still, teachers should be encouraged by student and teacher education boards to emphasise the multifaceted benefits of youth-centred programmes such as Erasmus+ by integrating preparatory sessions, as well as by facilitating continuous dialogue between students who have experienced these programmes and students who are considering doing so.

Social Media as New Means of Communication

While education can provide young European voters with foundational knowledge of the EU, we believe social media can shape their interest in EU politics. The Youth Participation Strategy, developed by SALTO Participation & Information in cooperation with the European Commission, stresses that young people remain underrepresented in decision-making, largely because participation mechanisms are neither youth-friendly nor accessible. The strategy highlights the importance of providing “quality impartial and youth-friendly information” about how the EU works and how young people can engage with it. We believe social media can help improve communication channels between policymakers and young citizens.

For communication to be meaningful, elected representatives should rethink how they present their work. Youth participation depends on simple information and strong links to decision makers. However, MEPs use complex language when explaining their viewpoint or how policy affects citizens. Our review of the Instagram accounts of French MEPs Raphaël Glucksmann (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, S&D), Manon Aubry (The Left), and Valérie Hayer (Renew Europe) illustrates this gap. Although they highlight their parliamentary activities, their content remains difficult to understand, offering little real insight into their position. This lack of clarity and accessibility means MEPs give young people little opportunity to understand their politics. The European Parliament’s official Instagram page also offers limited accessibility, posting lengthy speeches, decontextualised graphics or complex statements.

What is missing overall is clear, easy-to-understand communication about parliamentary activities from the MEPs. This can be addressed via social media, as it is often the most accessible platform. By showcasing projects, committee work and decision-making in approachable, accessible formats (like short videos), using clear language, MEPs could make EU politics more accessible to younger generations and to the rest of the population. Furthermore, the European Parliament itself should work harder to provide simple, easily understandable information on its general activities.

Youth Participation: How to make EU politics engaging?

Education and communication are essential tools for youth engagement in EU politics, but they do not automatically translate into participation. Existing initiatives already attempt to create these connections. Projects such as the MEET project, created by the European Youth Forum’s Participation Corner address youth engagement, offer training, civic-education tools and opportunities to learn about EU institutions. MEET centres on enabling direct dialogue between young individuals and MEPs. Apart from allowing young people to ask questions that matter to them, it also reduces their perceived distance to EU institutions. The sense of proximity, feeling represented, and building trust in the EU can play an important role in encouraging higher voter turnout. However, such initiatives often remain limited in reach and visibility. To maximise their impact, participation programmes should be more closely integrated with educational institutions and communicated more clearly through digital platforms where young people could engage with political content. If education systems, both formal and non-formal, provide young people with a clearer understanding of the EU, and EU policymakers use social media to explain participation opportunities and decision-making processes in an accessible manner, participation programs could transform this awareness into more meaningful political involvement.

Note: The views expressed in this post are those of the authors, and not of the UCL European Institute, nor of UCL.

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