Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has cycled to a polling station to cast his vote in European Parliament elections.

The premier took a selfie on Thursday morning with staff at the polling station, located in his former elementary school, and shook hands with students before cycling away.

Mr Rutte acknowledged that the 28-nation European Union needs reforms, but reeled off a list of reasons why the Netherlands is dependent on the EU.

Netherlands European Elections Rutte
Mark Rutte casts his vote (Phil Nijhuis/AP)

He said “for our safety, for our jobs, for our prosperity, our stability, we need to stay a part of European Union”.

Mr Rutte centre-right VVD party is in a neck-and-neck race to become the largest Dutch party at the elections with the populist Forum for Democracy, which advocates a referendum on the Netherlands leaving the EU.