A four-minute video featuring older people urging the next generation not to take democracy for granted is being published across the EU to kickstart the European Parliament elections.

The video opens with the words "A message for my grandchild. And for the rest of Europe" and includes stories from real people who remember the impact of democracy in their countries.  

It shows various older people across the bloc who have lived long enough to experience events like the Second World War, the Prague Spring and the Fall of the Berlin Wall. 

They share their stories with their younger relative and urge them to ensure democracy is passed on to the generations to come. 

More than 370 million people across the 27 member states will be called to vote in the European elections between June 6 and 9.

The video is part of the campaign with the theme ;Use Your Vote. Or others will decide for you'.

European Parliament president Roberta Metsola said EU democracy was "more important today than ever".

"Everyone's vote matters. It will decide the direction our Union will take for the five coming years. It will decide what Europe we want to live in”, she said.

Still from the campaign video, Use Your Vote. Photo: European Parliament

In 2019, more than half of eligible European voters turned out to vote (50.6%) and 71% of respondents to the Eurobarometer survey in April said they intended to vote this year.

“Democracy is a collective responsibility – not towards a political idea or a specific cause – but towards each other,” said the European Parliament’s spokesperson Jaume Duch.