Unsure how to vote in the European elections? This online tool could help

With the European elections just weeks away, election fervour is ramping up and political parties and their candidates are clamouring for your vote.

There is certainly no shortage of choice on the ballot paper: a staggering 39 candidates have put their names forward to represent the country.

Knowing who best represents your views can be challenging, especially with so many independent candidates and smaller parties in the running in addition to the two main political parties.

But who should you give your vote to?

Enter EU&I – a free online tool which helps match your views to the positions of the main local and European parties.

Times of Malta has partnered with the European University Institute in Florence to offer access to EU&I in English and Maltese on selected articles on its website.

To use the tool, simply answer 30 questions about your views on a range of topics including migration, finance, foreign policy, EU decision-making, rule of law, same-sex marriage, AI, agriculture and green technologies.

Once completed, you will be presented with results showing how closely your views match those of the Labour, Nationalist and ADPD parties, as well as their larger European counterparts and even national parties in other countries.

While EU&I will not show you how your ideas align with those of independent candidates and smaller parties like Volt, it could help indicate how closely your political views align with the main parties in the race.

When asked why more parties and independent candidates were not included in EU&I, the team behind the tool said it only included parties represented in national assemblies or the European Parliament and those achieving at least one per cent of the popular vote in recent polls.

EU&I also shows you where it thinks you are on the political spectrum and how your views compare to political parties on specific policies such as state intervention, migration and environmental protection.

“Politicians – especially those from the larger parties – are often reluctant to clearly state where they stand on various issues. That makes it difficult for voters to know what they are truly voting for”, said Times of Malta online editor Bertrand Borg.

"This tool clears some of that fog while encouraging people to think more deeply about what matters to them. The option to see which parties in other countries are closest to your worldview is especially interesting.”

EU&I may be accessed from selected Times of Malta articles or the official website.

For more information about the project, visit www.euandi.eu