Next European Parliament vote brought forward to May 2014
12 March 2013, 19:13 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - The European Union agreed Tuesday to bring forward next year's European Parliament elections to May instead of June to avoid the vote clashing with a holiday weekend.
An EU statement said the agreement to hold the ballot May 22-25, which will need to be approved unanimously by the bloc's 27 governments, aims "to ensure optimal conditions for the elections and strengthen the European Parliament's legitimacy."
The EU's Electoral Act originally set the election for the Pentecost weekend -- June 5-8 next year -- but this is a period when many member states are on school holidays.
The parliament, elected every five years, currently has 754 lawmakers but the next assembly will have 751.