Voters in 21 EU countries including France and Germany were casting their ballots on Sunday in an election for the European Parliament that is expected to shift the assembly to the right and boost the numbers of eurosceptic nationalists.

The election will shape how the European Union, a bloc of 450 million citizens, confronts challenges including a hostile Russia, increased industrial rivalry from China and the United States, climate change and immigration.

Voting began on Thursday in the Netherlands and in other countries on Friday and Saturday, but the bulk of EU votes will be cast on Sunday, with France, Germany, Poland and Spain opening the polls and Italy holding a second day of voting.

Casting her ballot, the leading candidate for Spain’s conservative People’s Party Dolors Montserrat, said the election would “decide the future of Spain and the future of Europe”.