The far-right is set to make huge gains in EU elections. It could define the next five years of European politics

CNN — This is a historic and pivotal year for democracy across the globe. Around 70 countries – from the United States to South Africa, via Mexico and Taiwan – will hold elections in 2024.

After India’s huge and ongoing six-week ballot, however, the biggest election in terms of voter numbers takes place this week, when 373 million Europeans can go to the polls and elect 720 members of the next European Parliament.

Once the votes have been tallied from across the 27-nation bloc, it is widely expected that the results will show a significant shift to the right, which could have major implications for the political direction of the European Union at a time when it is battling multiple crises, many of them global.

From the war in Ukraine to coping with mass migration, the rise of China to the threat of climate change, it’s hard to see how a bloc of diverse countries could possibly speak with one voice.