EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ELECTIONS ACROSS the European Union sent shock waves through the bloc’s centrist establishment in June, with the French and German engines of Europe’s U.S.-aligned foreign policy—particularly President Joe Biden’s backing for Ukraine—facing serious domestic turbulence.
As of June 21, Europe’s center-right European People’s Party was predicted to return 189 lawmakers to the next Parliament, winning over 26 percent of 720 seats contested. The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists were set to take some 83 seats.
The center-left Socialists and Democrats’ seat share is projected to remain roughly around the same at 136, while the liberal Renew Europe bloc is predicted to win around 74 seats—marking a significant loss of over 20 representatives.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, an EPP member, declared that “the constructive, pro-European center has held.” But the 185 million votes cast across 27 nations also delivered—though less so than predicted—a surge in far-right support, with Euroskeptic, anti-immigration and Mos-cow-sympathetic parties winning big in both
