Q+A - What is the European Parliament, how is it elected?

(Reuters) - Elections will be held to the European Parliament on June 4-7.

Here are some facts about the election and the assembly. Q. Who votes and when?

A. More than 375 million people are eligible to vote in the 27 European Union member states. Voting takes place over four days, starting in Britain and the Netherlands on June 4.

Ireland votes on June 5, and Latvia, Cyprus, Malta and Slovakia vote on June 6.

Two countries vote over two days -- the Czech Republic on June 5-6 and Italy on June 6-7.

Voting takes place on June 7 in the rest of the member states -- Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Voting is by secret ballot and voters must be aged 18 or more. Results cannot be released by any country until voting ends in all member states. Since the last election in 2004, Romania and Bulgaria have joined the EU.

Q. Who will be elected?

A. The voters choose 736 members of parliament (MEPs) for a five-year term. Each member state is allocated a number of representatives based on the size of its population. Germany, which has the largest population, will have the largest number of MEPs after the election (99), followed by Britain, France and Italy with 72. Malta will have the fewest -- five.