Centrist political groups secured a decisive majority in the European Parliament elections concluded on Sunday, June 9, 2024, despite a notable surge in support for hard-right and Euroskeptic parties. As reported by CNN, the projected results indicate that the pro-EU mainstream will continue to dominate the 720-seat legislature.
The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) is expected to remain the largest bloc with 189 seats, followed by the center-left Socialists and Democrats with 135 seats and the liberal Renew Europe with 80 seats. Together with the Greens, who secured 52 seats, the centrist coalition maintains a functional majority to govern the union’s institutions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the lead candidate for the EPP, emphasized the stability of the result in Brussels. “No majority can be formed without the EPP,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. She added that the grouping would act as a bulwark against political extremes.
The election results triggered immediate political upheaval in France, where the far-right National Rally party secured 31.5% of the vote. In response to the defeat of his Renaissance party, French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called for a snap parliamentary election.
In Belgium, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced his resignation on Sunday evening after his Open VLD party suffered significant losses in both national and European polls. The far-right Vlaams Belang and Flemish nationalist N-VA parties finished in a neck-and-neck race for the lead in the country.
Italy’s Brothers of Italy party, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, gained a clear lead with 28% of the vote, nearly doubling its previous European performance. In Spain, the conservative Popular Party (PP) overtook the ruling Socialists with 33.2% of the vote, while the far-right Vox party also saw substantial growth.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party remained the top choice in Hungary with 43.7%, though this marked a 10% decline compared to 2019. Meanwhile, the Greens faced a difficult night, losing 21 seats as voters shifted priorities away from environmental policies toward migration and security concerns.
Total voter turnout across the 27 member states reached approximately 51%, the highest level recorded since 1994. The EPP leadership has already indicated plans to form a “pro-European, pro-democratic alliance” to exclude extremist parties from influential governing positions in the coming term.