How much do the 2024 European elections cost? Spending by Italy and the EU

How much do the 2024 European elections cost? In a period like this where the specter of austerity hovers over the skies of the European Union given the return of the Stability Pact albeit now revisited, it may be interesting to see the impact on the coffers of the community vote.
The 2004 European elections will be held between 6 and 9 June, with each member state being able to decide independently on the date of the vote while remaining within this time frame.
In Italy the Council of Ministers has decided that the 2024 European elections will take place on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June; regardless of the date, the counting will begin in all 27 countries of the European Union at 11pm on 9 June.
Let's see what the costs of the 2024 European elections are, with the double voting date in Italy which will certainly increase expenses while the EU has already declared that it will try to weigh as little as possible on the pockets of EU citizens.
read also European elections 2024, when do you vote in Italy? Date, electoral law and polls The costs of the 2024 European elections To calculate the overall cost of the 2024 European elections, two expenditure items must be added: the outlay by Italy to organize the vote and that of the European Union.
As far as the EU is concerned, the figures are already official: Brussels has planned to spend a total of 37 million euros, or 0.08 euros for each EU citizen.
The largest expenditure item – around 8 million euros, almost a fifth of the total – will concern the promotion by Palazzo Berlaymont of the 2024 European elections and the work carried out by the European Parliament.
To understand how much it might cost to organize a vote like that of the European elections in Italy, we can refer to the 2013 policies, which would have cost the state coffers around 400 million.
In the 2013 political elections, the Ministry of Economy spent 38 million, that of Justice 14 million, Foreign Affairs 33 million and finally the Interior 315 million.
The Interior Ministry spent the most of all: 223 million for the polling stations, 73 million to guarantee security at the polls and the rest of the expenses were for IT management of the vote and logistics.
In the 2013 political elections, however, voting took place on the second day until 3pm, while for the 2024 European elections the polls will remain open for two full days: Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June.
In addition to the increases due to the increase in costs in general, this means that something more will probably be spent on polling station presidents, scrutineers and above all on the police force.
It is no coincidence that the European elections will most likely be merged into the first round of the administrative elections and the regional elections in Piedmont, Basilicata and Umbria, a way to contain expenses.
read also How much scrutineer and polling station president earn for elections