The results of the European Parliament (EP) elections started to become clear at midnight. In many countries, far-right parties came first in some countries. In the general distribution of the EP, the Christian Democrats were again the group with the most seats.
The results of the European Parliament (EP) elections held on June 6 – 9 in 27 European Union member countries were announced on the giant screen installed in the EP General Assembly hall in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.
As of midnight, results were received from Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta, France, Spain, Denmark, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden.
Accordingly, in Germany, the EPP, which brings together Christian Democrats, won 30 seats, the Greens/European Free Alliance 16, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) 14, Renew Europe (RE), which unites liberal parties, 8, the Left 4 and parties that are not yet part of a group in the EP won 19 seats.
In Germany, the Christian Democrat CDU/CSU alliance took the first place in the EP elections with 29 parliamentary seats, followed by the AfD with 17 seats. The Social Democrats (SPD), the senior partner of the government coalition, fell to third place with 14 seats. The other coalition partners, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), were able to win 12 and 5 parliamentary seats, respectively.
In the Netherlands, the RE and the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) won seven parliamentary seats each, the EPP 6, the Greens and S&D 4 each, the Left 1 and others 1.
Far-right came first in Austria
In Austria, the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) came first with 6 MEPs, followed by the EPP and S&D with five each, while the Greens and the RE won two seats each.
In Greece, the EPP won 8 MEPs, the Left 4, the S&D 3, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and independents two each.
In Cyprus, the EPP and independents won two seats each, the Left and S&D one each, out of a total of 6 seats.
In Bulgaria, EPP won 6 seats, RE 5, S&D 2 and others 4, while in Croatia EPP won 6 seats, S&D 4, Greens 1 and others 1.
In Malta, the EPP and S&D won three MEPs each.
In Denmark, the election gave 4 seats to the RE, three each to the Greens and S&D, and one each to the Left, ID and others.
In Spain, the EPP won 22 MEPs, S&D 20, ECR 7, Greens 4, Left and others 3 each, and 1 MEP each from parties not yet part of a group.
In France, the far right also came first
In France, the far-right ID won 30 seats, Re 14, S&D 13, Left 8, EPP 6, Greens 5.
Looking at the distribution of the parties in the EP elections in France, it is seen that the far-right National Unity (RN) Party ranked first by far with 31.5 percent of the votes. President Emmanuel Macron’s party Renaissance, on the other hand, received less than half of the votes of the RN and took the second place with 15.2 percent, leaving the Socialists, the third party, behind by a small margin. The opposition Socialist Party (PS) came in third with 14 percent, while the far-left Unbowed France (LFI) Party, also in opposition, came in fourth with 8.7 percent of the vote, and the center-right Republicans (LR) came in fifth with 7.2 percent.
French President Emmanuel Macron decided to dissolve the parliament and call early general elections after the far-right came first by a wide margin in the EP elections.
Making statements after his party’s landslide defeat, Macron admitted that the results were “not good for the parties defending Europe” and announced that early elections would be held between June 30 and July 7.
“With the vote, I have decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future, so I am dissolving the National Assembly this evening,” Macron said.
In Poland, EPP won 20 seats, ECR 10, RE 3, S&D 2, others 9.
In Portugal, EPP and S&D sent 7 MEPs each, RE, Left and ID 2 each, Greens 1, while in Sweden EPP and S&D won 5 seats each, Greens, RE and ECR 3 each and Left 2.
In Romania, the S&D won 13 seats, EPP 12, RE 2, ECR 1 and others 5.
How will the distribution of seats work?
According to the first projection shared by the EP on the outlook for the new parliament, the Christian Democrats’ umbrella party EPP remains the largest political group in the EP with 186 seats.
It is followed by S&D with 133 MEPs and RE with 82.
The far-right parties ECR and ID are in the top 5 with 70 and 60 seats respectively, while the Greens have gained 53 and the Left 36 seats.
It is seen that 100 MEPs, mostly from far-right parties, entered the parliament as independent members. These MEPs are likely to form a new political group in the EP.
Each country will elect MEPs in proportion to its population
For the first time in the EP elections, 720 MEPs will be elected instead of 705. The top 5 countries with the highest number of MEPs by population are Germany with 96, France with 81, Italy with 76, Spain with 61 and Poland with 53.
Romania 33, Netherlands 31, Belgium 22, Portugal, Greece, Hungary, Sweden and Czechia 21 each, Austria 20, Bulgaria 17, Slovakia, Denmark and Finland 15 each, Ireland 14, Croatia 12, Lithuania 11, Latvia and Slovenia nine each, Estonia 7, Malta, Luxembourg and Greek Administration of Southern Cyprus six each.
The new legislative term will start on July 16
With the announcement of the official results on June 10, the national parties that made it into the EP will begin the process of forming their political groups.
The first plenary session will convene on July 16, marking the start of the new legislative period.
